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TPIE
MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,
AND
JOURNAL
OF
ZOOLOGY^ BOTANY, MINEHALOGY, GEOLOGY, AND METEOROLOGY.
CONDUCTED
By J. C. LOUDON, F.L., G., & Z.S.
MEMBER OF VARIOUS NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIE
LONDON:v^
CONTINENT.
PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, REES, ORME, »lki2(^^>SfD GREEN,
PATERNOSTEIl-ROW. 1831.
London :
Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode,
New-Street-Square.
PREFACE,
If this Fourth Volume of the Magazine of Natural History shall be found, as we believe it will, to contain a greater variety of articles than either of the three which have preceded it, our Subscribers are indebted to our Contributors, and we think will join with us in offering them sincere and hearty thanks. We have only to refer to the List of Contributors (p. vii.)? to show their number, and the rank in science of some of their names.
Among the improvements introduced in the present Volume, we are desirous of directing the attention of our readers to some made in the General Index. Under the head of " Queries and Answers" will be found, alphabetically arranged, all the subjects queried or answered in the present Volume, with references con- nected with these queries to former Volumes. Under the word " Hints," in this Index, will be found the various suggestions for improvements in the management of the Magazine, or for articles to be written for it, which have been given in this Volume, without having been complied with. Under " Retrospective Cri- ticism" will be found all the subjects criticised in this Volume, with references, as in the case of " Queries and Answers," to former Volumes. Lastly, under " Corrections," the errors in this Volume, and in preceding ones not before noticed, are given.
Among other advantages which will result from this plan being adopted in future, will be that of pointing out to the more profound Naturalist a ready mode of ascertaining the wants of his less instructed brethren ; there being many of the former, we are convinced, who would willingly answer a query, or settle a point of difficulty or criticism, who have neither leisure nor inclination to write longer articles.
It is not without regret that we allude to the large proportion of controversial papers contained in the present Volume ; but
A 2
IV
PREFACE.
our regret is less on account of the unsuitableness of these papers to this Magazine (because we are convinced that in the end they will do good), than because of the space which they occupy among the " Original Communications." This circumstance has determined us to arrange all future controversy (and we trust we shall henceforth have very little) under a distinct head, and imme- diately before " Retrospective Criticism ;" where, being in a small type, it will occupy much less room, and may be passed over by those who do not take an interest in the subjects discussed.
J. C. L. Bai/sivatery Oct. 13. 1831. - - ...
CORRECTIONS.
In p.
Vol. II. , as noticed in Vol. IV. 97. make the corrections indicated in
vol. iv. p. 469. line 8. from the bottom.
Vol. Ill.y as noticed in Vol. IV.
In p. 154. line 22. for " the swift," read " four swifts ; " and, in the next line, for " Octo- ber 27." read " September 27," as pointed out vol. iv. p. 185.
In p. 189. line 13. for " Coulemb's balance of Tarsim," read " Coulomb's balance of tor- sion," as directed vol. iv. p. 469.
In Notes on the Pyrenees, p. 496.507., insert the corrections given vol. iv. p. 82.
In p. 507. line 14. from the bottom, for " Peebles- shire," read " Mid-Lothian," as shown vol. iv. p. 556.
In p. 524. for description of fig. 128. see vol. iv. p. 85.
In p. .545. for " PhU. Trans;' p. 1793, read " year 1703," as shown vol. iv. p. 80,
In p. 570. to " holoc^ntricus " substitute the de- rivation given vol. iv. p. 77.
Vol. IV.
In p. 25. line 35. for " elevation " read " thick- ness," as shown, p. 468. line 37.
In p. 27. line 19. for " entwine " read '« inter- mingle."
In p. 105. line 15. for « Colli^ri" read " Collife?," as shown p. 331.
In p. 123. line 42. for " trivi^lis " read " locus- tella," as shown p. 412. in the note.
In p. 144. line 13. for " Vol. II. p. 123." read « Vol. III. p. 193.," as shown p. 278.
In p. 155. line 50. for " on " read " no."
In p. 168. in the headings to the columns of the table, make the corrections as directed p. 469.
In p. 178. line 25. for " Sowerby's Genera oJFossH Shells^'re&d " Sowerby's MineralConchologi/."
In p. 185. line 31. for " diction " read " dictum."
In p. 208. line 11. from the bottom, for " fig. 33. a," read " fig. S3. A."
In p. 287. line 17. for " mare" read " man,'! aa. shown p. 383.
In p. 449. line 19. for *' Lknius exciibitor " read « K Collilrio."
CONTENTS.
Part I. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
GENERAL SUBJECT. Remarks on the Natural Productions indigenous to Britain. By T. E. L. - - Page 1
On the Study of Nature and Science, By Joseph Hayward, Esq, - - - - 5
On the Auditory Apertures in the Skulls of Quadrupeds and Birds, as Auxiliaries in Clas- sification. By W. Farrar, Esq. M.D. - 9 A familiar Treatise on the Anatomy and Phy- siology of the Organs of Vision in Man and other Animals. By B, S. - - 14. 207
A Defence of " certain French Naturalists," By Wm. Swainson, Esq. F,R,S. F.L.S. &c. &c.
97 Original Letters, descriptive of a Natural His- tory Tour in North America, By T. W, 108 289. 523 Account of an Ornithological Visit to the Islands of Shetland and Orkney, in the Summer of 1828. By Richard Drosier, Esq. - - 193 Evidences in Proof of certain Statements con- tained in the " Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society delineated," In a Letter to < the Conductor. By E. T, Bennett, Esq. F.L.S. Vice-Sec. Z.S. - - - - 199
A Letter to the Editor respecting Art. I, of No. XVIII. of this Journal. By N. A. Vigors, Esq. M.A. F.R.S. &c. - - 206
Rough Notes made during a Pedestrian Tour to the Lakes of Cumberland and Westmore- land, in the Spring of 1830. By G. - 297 Remarks on the recent Mode of publishing the Numbers of Stephens's " Illustrations of Bri- tish Entomology." By A. H. Davis, F.L.S.
303 An Attempt to explain the principal Phenomena of Geology and Physical Geography, by the i Precession of the Equinoxes and the Earth's Figure as an oblate Spheroid. Presented to the Geological Society of London by the Author, Sir John Byerley, Member of several learned Societies - - - - 308
A farther Defence of certain French Natural- ists. By Wm. Swainson, Esq. F.R.S. F.L.S. &c. - - - - 316
A Reply to Art. I. No. XVIII. of this Journal, By N. A. Vigors, Esq. A.M. F.R.S. &c., in a Letter to the Editor - - - 319
An Essay on the Analogy between the Struc- , ture and Functions of Vegetables and Ani- mals. By William Gordon, Esq., Surgeon, Welton, near Hull. Read before the Hull . Literary and Philosophical Society, Nov. 19. 1830. Communicated by Mr. Gordon - 383 Some Account of a Russian Natural History Expedition in Brazil, during the Seven Years preceding April, 1831. By M. F. Faldermann, Curator of the Botanic Gardens, St. Peters- burgh - . . .394 Instances of Monstrous Productions. Commu- nicated by C. B. Rose, Esq. . . 403 The final Statement of Mr. Swainson, in reply to Mr. Vigors. By William Swainson, Esq. F.R.S. L.S. &c. - - - 481 Letter to the Editor, in defence of certain French Naturalists. By M. Lesson - 487 Reply to Mr. Davis's Animadversions upon the recent Method of publishing his " Illustra- tions of British Entomology." By J. F. Ste- phens, Esq. F.L. and Z.S. &c. - - 488 On the Intellectual Faculties of Brute Animals. By J. J. - . . . 498
Further Remarks on the Luminosity of the Sea, By Wm, Baird, Esq, M.D., Member of the Plinian Society, Edinburgh - Page 500
Additional Remarks on the Luminosity of the Sea. By J, Westwood, Esq. F.L.S. &c. - 505
ZOOLOGY,
Notice of an Attempt to naturalise the Virginian Partridge in England, By J. C, Staffordshire
16
Anecdotes of a tame Hawk, By the Rev.W. B, Clarke, F,G,S, F.LS. M.R.S.L. &c. - - 19
Notice of the Breathing-Tube of the Boa. By Bartholomew Dillon, Esq. - - 20
Entomological Notes. By J. C. Dale, Esq. - 21
Notice of the recent Capture of Chrysomela cerealis in North Wales. By John Blackwall, Esq. F.LS. - - - - 23
Additions to the Catalogue of British Birds, with Notice of the Occurrence of several rare Species. Communicated by William Yarrell, Esq. F.L. & Z.S., in a Letter to the Conductor
116
Some Account of the British Song Birds. By J. M., A.L.S. &c. - - - - 118. 412
An Account of the Discoveries of Miiller and
others in the Organs of Vision of Insects and
the Crustacea. By George Parsons, Esq. 124.
220. 363
Observations on the Hyacinthine Maccaw. By E. T. Bennett, Esq. F.L.S. - - 211
On the Solitary Thrush (Turdus solitarius). By J. Couch, Esq. - - - 213
Observations tending to establish the Identity of the Deal Fish of Orkney with the Vaagmaer of Iceland. By the Rev. Dr. Fleming - 215
On the Natural History of the Bee. By W. L,, of Selkirkshire - - - - 234
On a beautiful Nidus of a Spider, and a Hymen- opterous Parasite found within it. By A, H. Davis, Esq, F.L S. - - - 236
On the Habits of the Weasel. By Sc61opax Rusticola - - - - 337
Some Account of a Grampus (Delphinus O'rca) recently captured in Lynn Harbour. By G. M.
338
Observations on the British Species of Shrikes, their Habits, Nidification, &c. By J. D. Hoy, Esq. - - - - - 341
On the Black Marten (Hir6ndo A'^us Lin.). By W. L 344
Remarks on the Locomotion and Habits of the Limpet, By Frederick C. Lukis, Esq. - 346
An Introduction to the Natural History of Mol- luscous Animals. In a Series of Letters. By G. J. - - - - 351. 523
The Robin. By Von Osdat - - - 410
On the Domestic Education of Cats. By Cattus
511
Unusual Structure of the first two Cervical Ver- tebrte of a large Quadruped found in a Bone- yard. By C. B. - - - - 513
Remarks on Professor Rennie's Edition of Mont- agu's Ornithological Dictionary. By Charles Waterton, Esq. - - - - 516
Notes on the Chimney Swallow (flirundo r6s. tica), and on the Window Swallow or Marten (Hifundo 6rbica). By Jonathan Couch, Esq.
On a peculiar Species of Mite parasitical on Slugs. By the Rev. L. Jenyns, F.LS. - 538
VI
CONTENTS.
BOTANY.
A Sketch of the Flora of Richmond, Yorkshire, as compared with that of Thirsk, in the same County. By T. £. L. - - Page 24
On the claims of /Ms tuberbsa as a Native of Ireland, and on some Peculiarities in its
;. Growth and Flowering. By the Rev. W, T. Bree,A.M. - - - -28
Account of a very large Tree in Mexico. Com- municated by James Mease, Esq. M.D. - 30
On theSensibiUty of Vegetables. By T. E. L. 134
Description of a beautiful Tree. By John F. M. Dovaston, Esq. A.M., of Westfelton, near Shrewsbury - . -238.538
New Theory of the Ascent of the Sap, By H. 541
GEOLOGY.
'Notice of a Fossil .Natitilus found in the Sand- stone of the Isle of Sheppey. By Mrs. Lee, late Mrs. Bowdich - - - 137
Description of the Jaw and Teeth of a Mam- moth, and of some other Fossils, found in a Flint Quarry in the Neighbourhood of Chat- ham ; being the Substance of a Lecture deli- vered to the Philosophical and Literary So- ciety of that Town by Robert Dadd, Esq. Communicated by Mr. Dadd - - 240
Observations on the Diluvial Gravel in the Neighbourhood of Birmingham. By Frede- rick Jukes, Esq. - - - 372 ;
On the recent and rapid Formation of some Peat Bogs in Ireland. By Geo. Ensor, Esq. 543
Notice of the Volcanic Island lately thrown up between Pantellaria and Sciacca. By William Ainsworth, Esq. M.R.S.L., Member of the Royal Geographical Society, &c. - Page 545
METEOROLOGY.
On raining Trees. By John Murray, Esq. F.S. A. F.L.S. F.G.S. &c. - - .32
Some Remarks on the Spring of 1830, as com- pared with that of 1829, with a Calendar show- ing the Difference of the Two Seasons. By the Rev.W. T. Bree, M.A. . -35
A short Account of the Fall of a Meteoric Stone at Launton, in Oxfordshire. By Mr. Stowe, Surgeon, Buckingham - . . 139
On the Temperature of the Atmosphere on dif, ferent Parts of the Earth's Surface. By Mr. W.White, H.M.C.S. - - - 245
Data and Observations towards establishing Rules for the Guidance of Agriculturists and Botanists, as to the Quantity of Rain which falls in different Months of the Year in dif. ferent Places. By James G. Tatem, Esq., Member of the Meteorological Society - 248
Hail ia the South of France, and Insurance against Loss by it. By James Mitchell, Esq. LL.D. . ' . . .5^9
Part II. REVIEWS.
Insect Architecture: forming Vol. III. of the " Library of Entertaining Knowledge " - 39
Botanical Commentaries. By Jonathan Stokes, M.D. Vol. 1. - . .55
A'lgse Britannicae ; or. Descriptions of the Ma- rine and other inarticulated Plants of the Bri- tish Islands belonging to the Order A'lgx; with Plates illustrative of the Genera. By Robert Kaye Greville, LL.D. &c. - - 57
Catalogue of Works on Natural History, lately published, with some Notice of those con- sidered the most interesting to British Na- turaUsts 6^421
Bulletin de la Soci^td Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou. Vol. I. for 1829, and No. I. for 1830 - - - - - 251
Zoological Researches and Illustrations in Na- tural History. By John V. R. Thompson, Esq. F.L.S. Nos. I. and II. . - - 256
Notice sur le Tettigopsis, nouveau genre d'Or- thoptferes de la Russie. Par G. Fischer de Waldheim - - - - 261
Illustrations of Zoology. By James Wilson, F.R.S.E. Nos. VIII. and IX. 261
Literary Notices - - 67. 262
Part III. COLLECTANEA.
Zoology Botany
142. 430 ] Geology 157. 437 I Meteorology
443 4H
Part IV. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Natural History in Foreign Countries :
Italy - - . . 263
Natural History in London - - 68. 158
Natural History in the English Counties :
Bedford - . . - 160
Buckinghamshire
Cheshire . - -
Cornwall
Devonshire
Dorsetshire
Essex
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Norfolk
Nottinghamshire
Suffolk
- 267
- 73 161. 267
- 445
- 73 268.446
72.448
- 162
- 269
- 70 163.449
|
Sussex |
. 163 |
|
Warwickshire |
- 164 |
|
Worcestershire |
- 450 |
|
Yorkshire |
71. 165 |
|
Natural History in Scotland - |
- 166. 269 |
|
Natural History in Ireland |
. 167. 269. 452 |
Calendar of Nature in England for 1830, 167 Monthly Calendar of Nature for Scotland, 74.175. 270. 378. 453. 553 Wood-cuts in the " Library of Entertaining Knowledge," - - - 380
Hints for Improvements - - - 177
Retrospective Criticism 76. 183. 272. 381. 455. 554 Queries and Answers 86. 187. 278. 383. 470. 557 Obituary , . -192.558
Appendix': Controversy between N. A. Vigors, Esq. A.M. F.R,S. &a
and W. Swainson, Esq, F.R.S. L.S. &c. ... 559
Glossarial Index - - - - . .561
Index to Books reviewed and noticed - - - 563
General Index - - - - . - 564 .
LISTS OF ENGRAVIJ^GS AND CONTRIBUTORS.
VU
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS.
No
BIRDS.
8. Virginian partridges
FISHEa 34. Deal fish of Orkney - 56. Grampus
REPTILES.
15. Intestines of a ftog
CRUSTACEA. 100 b. A species of Cynthia ? Thompson 100 a. Cancer fulgene ? Banks ; 18, 19. Eyes of Sc6rpio tunensis
2£, 23. Eyes of a large Cym6thoa
47, 48. Eye of Gimmarus P^Iex
46. Eye of Mon6culus apus
43. Eye of Pfeneus sulcatus
20, 21. Eyes of Scolopi^ndra m6r8itan3
Page 16
. 95
. 503
- 503 129, 130
. 132
. 232
. 232
- 226 . 130
39. 40. 45. 41. •26.
91. 27. 62. ' 13. 68.
97.
S8.
50,
30,
l67,
INSECTS. lEghria ^ipulaeformis - .6
Ball containing an insect - . ^ 36, 37, 38. Compound eye of Lib^Uula
vulgaris . . 221,223,224
Diagram exhibiting the mode of the
action of light on compound eyes - 365
Erosions of insect in the bark of ash - 156
Eye of M'schna grandis - - 226
EyesofaSphfn* - , - 228
Eye of Dytiscus marginalis - 226
Eye of Zuc?inus Cervus - - 226
Eyes of Mantis religiosa - - 230
EyeofMeloemajalis . - 226
Hermaphrodite J?6mbyx castr^nsis - 160 Hermai^rodite J?6mbyx (Clisioc^mpa
Curt.) castr^nsis - - 434 Hermaphrodite .B6mbyx (Ehtricha
5/e/>A.)pini - - - 434 Hermaphrodite i?6mbyx (Hypogf mna
Hubn.) . . - 434 Hermaphrodite Lucanus Cervua L. - 435 Hydr6phUus piceus, nest of - 151 Luminous sea insects - - 285 Metamorphosis of a species of C4ssida 85 Mode of vision by insects with com- pound eyes ... Poly6mmatus Argiolu*, male and fe- male - - - - *77 Remarkable web of a spider - 151 Tettig6psis, a new genus of locusts - 261 Tracks of the Sc61ytus destrfictor - 156 , Visual field of the hemispherical eye
57, 58. Tracks of the common limpet (Pa- tella vuIgJita) - - 348,349
371
SI. Tracks of an insect in ash bark , 2. Wasp's nest, two sections of
MOLLUSC A.
65. Animal of Buccinum undktum
105. Btilimus obsctirus - - 61. Cells of Lith6domi
106. Halibtis - - , 64 c. Hiat^Ua arctica
60. M:^tilus edulis
107. Octopus vulgaris, eye of . - 109. Phil6dromus iimacum Jennings
62,63. Pholas Candida - - 355,
96. Ph^salis pelagijca, Portuguese man of war - ...
64 b. Saxfcava praec\sa S4 a. Saxicava rugbsa ...
104. Sb\en siliqua
537 350
- 284 . 504 . 502
- 502 . 501
- 502
- 109
- 114 r
. 290
384 155
162 384
108. Tritbnirt arbor^scens 59. Young of the common limpet ANIMALCULES. 51. Fluke, found in the Uver of sheep
181 ab c. Luminous animalcules 99 b. Luminous echinate animalcule 99 c. Luminous cirrhose animalcule 98. Luminous species of Cyclops 99 a. Radiated luminous animalcule LANDSCAPES.
16. Fort Lee, in America
17. Grave of Major Andr^
54. The Hudson river, in America, n
Vredideka Hook
55. West Point, on the Hudson
TREES AND SHRUBS. 83. Dracae^na surculbga 29. Elm tree ....
HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 32. Aspfdium dilat^tum var. reciirvum - 82. Eriophyilum caespitbsum
9. i^ris tuberbsa - - - »y
FOSSILS.
24. A ^afitilus in sandstone in the" Isle of
Sheppey - - - 137
II. A petrified tree - - - 73
72. A seed-vessel - - - 374
79. A shell of the Pdcten genus - - 376
77. Bed of shells - - - 376
73. Calamites FseMo- Ba^nbiisia - SI5
80. Caryophyllia - - - 377
78. E'ntrochi in chert - - - 376
69. Fern leaf in ironstone - - 374
74. Ficoidites verrucbsus - - 375
75. Fossil unnamed . _ . 375 49. Jaw and teeth of a mammoth - 241
10. Oak from the bed of the Trent - 70 71 . Reticulated trunk, with leaves - 374
81. Shells in sandstone - - 377
70. Single leaf in ironstone - - 374
76. Thin stem with fine leaves - - 376 53. Trilobite, a species of - - 288 93, 94. Trilobites resembling butterflies
443,444 METEOROLOGY.
1?. Meteorological diagram - - 74 GEOLOGY.
III, 112. Volcanic Island - - 548, 540
|
OSTEOLOGY. |
|
|
102. Cervical vertebra |
- 514 |
|
86, 87. Head of a monstrous lamb - |
405,406 |
|
5. Skull of the fox |
- 11 |
|
3. Skull of the hare |
- 9 |
|
6. Skull of the owl |
- 12 |
|
4. Skull of the polecat |
- 10 |
|
103. Vertebral mechanism |
- 515 |
|
MISCELLANEOUS. |
|
|
7. Human eye, and a section of it |
- 15 |
|
33. Human eye, humours of |
- 208 |
|
92. Instruments for catching insects |
- 436 |
|
84,85. Monstrous head of a lamb |
- 404 |
|
25. Pipe for blowing eggs 110. Stool found in an Irish peat bog |
- 145 |
|
. 544 |
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.
A. B
A. B. B.
A Constant Reader -
Acton, Edward
A. D., 284. ; A. E. -
A. G. G., Newark upon Trent
- 145
- 268
- 382 163. 187
- 93 . 70, 71
A. G., Annat Gardens, 75. 177. 272. 380. 455. 554 Agronome - . - 476.557
Ainsworth, William, M.R.S.L. - 82. 545
A. J., 182. ; A. L. A. - - - 186
Allis, Thomas - - - - 7J. 91
A Lover of the Science (Entomology) - 476
Vlll
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.
A Mineralogist - - - - 96
An Entomological Amateur - - 149
An Observer ... . 456
An Observer of Nature - 82. 92. 93. 145. 456 Anon. .... 192. 268
A Purchaser of "Stephens's Illustrations" 460 A. R. Y. . . . - 55. 458
A Sportsman - - - - 181
A Subscriber - - - 147. 383
A. Z. - - . . 384. 473. 479 B., Coventry . 81. 190. 383. 457. 476. 471 B., Hampstead . - - - 288 B., Laytonstone ... - 444 Baird, W., M.D, - - - 476. 500 Bakewell, Robert - - - - 474 Bennett, E. T., F.L.S. - - 199, 211 Blackwall, John - - 23. 74. 142 Blair, T. .... 187.280 Bland, Michael . - - - 465 Blomer, Charles - - - - 446 Bloxam, Andrew - - 146. 162, 163 Bluett, T. - - . . 434 Bowman, J. E - - - - 180 Bouchier, Barton . . . - 433 Bree, Rev. W. T., A.M. 28. 35. 145. 148. 162.
' 165. 187. 275. 381. 443. 464. 469. 472. 479. 480 Brown, P. J. - - - - 89
B. S. - - . - - 14. 207 Burney, H. . - - - 471 Byerley, Sir John . - - - 308
C. . - . - 283.479 C. B. - - - - - 513 Cattus - .... 511 Causidicus - - - - 463 Chapman, Thomas - - - 188 Clarke, W. B. - 19. 82. 91. 92. 96. 144. 191 Couch, J, - . - - 213, 530
C. S. E. - - - .382 Davis, A. H., F.L.S, - 283, 284. 303. 557, 558
Dale, J. C 21. 267
Deck, J., Cambridge - - - - 153
Denson, John, sen. . - 152. 155. 156
D. N, . - . . 384, 472 Dovaston, J, Freeman Milwood, A.M. 238, 455 Dadd, Robert - - - - 240 Drosier, Richard - - - 193 D, S. - . . - 423 Duval, Auguste Prevost - - - 150 Edgeworth, Thomas - - - - 464
Ensor, George, Esq 543
E.S., F.L.S. - - -436.464
Faldermann, F. - - - 394
Farrar, W,, M,D. - - - 9
F, C. L. . . . - 284
F. I, - . . . 288 Fleming, Rev. Dr. - - - 215 Flewker, James - . - 73 Frank Plain . - - - - 278
G. . . . . .297 Garry, William - - - - 448 Gilbertson, Wm. - . - 73 Giles, J. B. . - .. - 279 G. J. . . . - 351, 523 G, M. (Lynn Regis) - 146. 152. 157. 191. 338 Gordon, William, Surgeon - - 385 Gorrie, A. - . . - 192 H. . . . . 93.541 Ha3Tvard, Joseph . - - 5
H. C, W 166
Headlam, E. . - . 433. 449
Henslow, J, S., Prof, Bot, Cambridge 279. 281,
282, 284, 383, 459. 466 Hewitson, William C, - - .265
H. N. . - . 270,453
H. T. . . . . 473
H. T, C, - . . 287. 383
Hoy,J. D. . - - 147.341
Inquisitor - - - - 279
J. B. A, - - . - 86. 183
J. C. (Staffordshire) - - - 16. 433
J. K L. . - 1. 24, 72. 134. 466, 467
Jenyns, Rev. Leonard, F,L,S. . -538
J, G, - - - 448. 479
J. G, C, . . . .445
J, J. - . . . 498
J. M. (Edinburgh) - - - - 143
J. M. (Philadelphia)
Jones, J. . -
J. O. W.
J. Reed
J. S. (Manchester) -
Jukes, Frederick
Juvenis
J. W. L.
K. O. See V. O.
L, D. .
Lee (late Bowdich), Mrs,,
Lees, Edwin
Lequin, J.
Lesson, M. - -
Lukis, Frederick C.
Mackay, J. T,
Main, James, A.L.S.
Mantell, Mr., of Lewes -
Maund, B. -
Mease, James, M. D.
Mitchell, James, LL,D,
. 151
- 90
82. 85, 94, 95
- 149 . 81
- 372
- 181 64. 70, 276
92. 96, 188
- 137
- 441
- 192
- 487
- 346
- 167 . 118. 412
- 164
- 442 . 30 . 551
Murray, John, F.S,A, F.L.S. F,G,S. &c., 32. 85. 147. 148. 150, 151. 157. 469 Murray, T. See Murray, J, N. . . . 63.255.260.261.262.277
Newman, Edward . - - - 560
Nichols, J. - - - - 449
O ... - 94, 150
Parsons, George " - - 124. 22o] 363
Rennie, J., Prof. Nat, Hist,, King's College,
London . - - - 186
Perry, John, jun. (Godalming, Surrey) - 437 Perry, W, G. . . - - 450
Reed, L. E . . ~ 444
R, H, . - . . - 427
Robertson, John ... 469
Rose, C.B 403
RS . . - -96
Rusticus " - " . " - 280.284
Scales, William - - - - 431
5c61opax Rustfcola - 83. 147. 184. 337. 428 Simpson, John - - - 86
Sowerby, J. D. C 188
Spence, W. - - - - 264
Spring, C. - - - .187
Stephens, J. F., F,L, & A,S. &c. - - 488 Stock, DaJiiel . - - - 278
Stowe, Mr., Surgeon . - , 139
S. T, P, . . - - 187
S. V, W. - - - - 274
S. W. - - - - - 269
Sw. - - - - - 276
Swainson, WilUam, F.R,S. F,L.S, &c.&c.,' 97. 316, 456, 474. 481, 555. 558 Tatem, James G,, Mem, Meteor, Sod. 248. 267. 469 T. E. L, See J. E. L.
T. G. - - - - - 431
Thompson, Thomas - - . 86. 94
Tudor, R. A. . . - - 94
Turner, Henry . 442, 449, 450. 464. 465. 474 T. W. D. . . - - 90
Vigors, N. A., F.R.S. &c. &c. - 206. 319 V. O, - - . - 84
VonOsdat . - . - 410
W. — (near Melrose) - - - 166
W, A. . - . - 95. 190
Warwick, J. . - - - - 470
Waterton, Charles, Esq. . - - 516
W. C. jun. - . - - 473
W. C, T. 190
Westwood, John O. - . - 435. .505
White, W. H., H. M.C.S. 160. 185. 245, 466, 474
W, H. W 160
W. L. (Selkirkshire) - - 166, 234. 281. 344 Woodward, Samuel - - 177.285.469
W. P. S 480
Wright, A, - - - 150,166.188
W.S. - - - - 273
W. S, (Buckingham) - . - 180
W, S. (Geneva) . - - 149
W. S, (Stamford Hill) - . . 95
Yarrell, William, F, L, & Z. S. - .116 Y, R. . - . - - 442
X. Y. Z. - . . . - 269
^^ - - - - - 57. 65, 66
73,274.; r., 189.J A. - - - 150
THE MAGAZINE
OF
NATURAL HISTORY.
JANUARY, 1831.
Art. I. Remarks on the Natural Productions bidigenons to Britain. By T. E. L.
Sir, AVhen we cast our eyes around, and observe the comforts and enjoyments, principally derived from the productions of Nature, with which we are on every side surrounded, it will naturally occur to us to consider whence these severally are derived, and how they were brought into general use ; whe- ther they are indigenous to the country, or imported into it by the zeal of individuals. This becomes almost a matter of necessity at the present time; for scarcely a day passes, scarcely a single vessel arrives from foreign ports, which does not bring with it something new or strange, either to supply the demands of luxury, already too far extended, or to fulfil some useful end in the varied concerns of commerce.
How far any country is capable of relieving the wants of its inhabitants is a question of difficult solution. In an uncivilised state, where, of course, the population is much more thinly scattered, the wants of man are comparatively few, and easily satisfied ; and where commerce is unknown, and intercourse with foreigners is unfrequent, the natives are compelled to subsist on the indigenous productions of the country which they inhabit. But as civilisation advances, the population gradually increases, and intercourse with strangers becomes more frequent ; a commercial spirit is by degrees awakened, and the natives of the neighbouring countries mutually ex- change the productions peculiar to each ; new wants arise, and, consequently, new means must be taken to gratify them ; luxurious refinements creep in, and no exertions are left
Vol. IV. — No. 17. b
2 Ofi the Natural Productions
untried to supply the great and increasing demand. Thus man ingeniously increases his supposed necessities, and is ever seeking something new ; which, when the novelty wears off", must be supplied by others, to an interminable series.
The preceding remarks will be found generally applicable to this country which we inhabit. It will be seen, on con- sideration, that very few of the commonest necessaries of life are the produce of our own, but imported from foreign lands : I perhaps ought to say originally ; fruits, domestic animals, the different species of grain, are originally natives of lands far remote from their present naturalised abodes. It is the object of this paper to take a brief and rapid view of the more remarkable of these importations, and of the principal ones which claim this island as their natural habitation.
Britain, from the earliest periods of history, has been known for its mineral treasures. There is no doubt that the Phoe- nicians derived their supplies of tin from this island, though whether through direct or indirect channels is uncertain. The latter seems the more probable hypothesis ; though, per- haps, the uncertainty respecting the position of the Cassiter- ides, which exists in the ancient authors, may have arisen from the care with which the Phoenicians, in the illiberal spirit of monopoly, endeavoured to conceal the source whence that mineral was derived. Tin was evidently considered much inferior in value to gold and silver, and was abundant in Egypt at a very early period ; the Greeks were well acquainted with it at the time of the Trojan war, and it was in common use among the Jews in the time of Moses. But to return : the Carthaginians, under Himilco, in that celebrated voyage re- specting which we cannot but regret the scantiness of the materials that remain, reached the coast of England, or Al- fionn, as it was then called ; and Pytheas, a voyager from Marseilles previously to the time of Alexander the Great, was acquainted with its southern and eastern shores.* England was also known by name to Aristotle, the father of natural history. But it is from the expedition of Julius Caesar into Britain, and the account which he has transmitted to us, that we derive the fullest information of what were the productions and character of the country at that distant period, f He tells us *' that the coast was thickly peopled, and that cattle (pecora) were abundant. Instead of money, the inhabitants employed iron and copper rings ; the copper was imported, and the supply of iron was but scanty. Plumbum album (or
* See Larclncr's Cabinet Cyclopaedia, Maritime and Inland Discovery, vol. i. ; and Thomson's History of Chemistry, vol.i. p. 67. f Gallic War, lib.v.$ 10.
indigenous to Britain.
tin) was of frequent occurrence in tlie interior; and the trees were the same as those found in Gaul, except the ' abies * and the ' fagus/ The natives bred the hare, the hen, and the goose, yet did not consider it proper to use them for food. They seldom cultivated corn in the inland parts, but lived on milk and flesh meat ; and were clothed in the skins of beasts." Thus much says Caesar. Tacitus, in the life of Agricola, adds some curious particulars. * He says, " Fert Britannia aurum et argentum et alia metalla pretium victoriae ; gignit et oceanus margarita, sed subfusca et liventia f : " respecting which he remarks, " Quidam artem abesse legentibus arbi- trantur; nam in rubro mari J viva ac spirantia saxis avelli; in Britannia, prout expulsa sint, conligi : ego facilius crediderim, naturam margaritis deesse quam nobis avaritiam.'* § That corn was planted even in the northern parts of the island, we gather from the speech of Galgacus before battle (when he was exhorting his countrymen to resist the insupportable tyranny of the Romans), in which he says, " Bona fortunas- que in tributum egerunt ; in annonam frumentum." ||
Before proceeding further, I must be allowed to make a few remarks upon the preceding passages. The assertion of Caesar that neither the " abies " nor " fagus " was found in Britain, has been nmch too severely brought forward as an impeach- ment of that author's veracity. There can be little doubt that the tree here spoken of was not the beech ; and the " abiete," as the Italians call the silver fir, is certainly not a native of this country. The question is, then, what tree is here meant under the name of " fagus." That it was used for food there can be no doubt. Pliny calls the acorn of the fagus *' dulcis- sima omnium" [sweetest of all], alluding to the trees natives of Italy ; therefore excluding the chestnut, which, he says,
* Tacitus, Agricolae Vita, sect. 12. and 31.
f " Britain contains gold and silver to reward the conqueror ; and the sea produces pearls, but brownish and livid."
:|: " Iildicus maxime has (margaritas) mittit oceanus; praecipue autem laudantur circa Arabiam in Persico sinu maris rubri." — Pliny ^ Nat. Hist. [" These pearls chiefly come from the Indian Ocean ; but those from the shores of Arabia, on the Persian Gulf of the Red Sea, are the most prized."] The student must be on his guard not to mistake the " mare rubrum " here mentioned, for the Red Sea of our geographers. What is meant under that name is the northern part of the Persian Gulf, whence the Romans got their finest pearls.
§ " Some attribute this to the ignorance of the collectors ; for in the Red Sea the pearl shells are torn alive from the rocks, while in Britain they are gathered as they are thrown up : but I should more readily believe nature to be deficient in pearls than men in avarice."
II " They take our goods in tribute ; they carry off our corn to supply their city and their armies."
B 2
Productions ifidisenmis to Britain
ti^
came originally from Lydia. He also adds, " Glandem, quae proprie intelligitur, ferunt robur, quercus, esculus, cerrus, ilex, suber." * Pausanias tells us that the acorn was for ages almost the sole food of the Arcadians ; not, however, those TMv dpvMv TTua-Mv [of all trees], but only of that which was called fYiyo^ [fagus] {Pausaii. lib. viii. c. 1. p. 592.); and a traveller in Spain (Sir Thomas Gascoigne) relates that the peasants of Catalonia and Valencia live great part of the year on the acorns of the evergreen oak ; and that he and his fellow-traveller found them very sweet and palatable.f The author, also, of the number of the Library of Entertaining Knowledge upon trees:}: says, " The Quercus /lex (evergreen oak), which is still common in Spain, in Italy, in Greece, in Syria, in the south of France, and on the shores of the Mediterranean, bears a fruit which, in its agreeable flavour, resembles nuts. There is another evergreen oak (Quercus i?allota) very com- mon in Spain and Barbary, of which the acorns are most abundant and nutritive. During the late war in Spain, the French armies were fortunate in finding subsistence upon the iBallota acorns in the woods of Salamanca." This, then, in all probability, is the " fagus " spoken of in the Commentaries of Caesar ; certainly not a native of Britain ; and more likely, being a common article of food, to be mentioned than that which we now know as the beech. From the same passage in Caesar we find that neither the copper mines of Cornwall nor, in fact, any in the kingdom, were then worked, or, indeed, known ; and that even iron was not found in abundance. In the time of Agricola, it appears that pearls and the precious metals were to be met with. The consideration of this pas- sage we will leave to another opportunity. Whatever pro- gress in civilisation the natives, from the preceding passages, appear to have reached, it must be understood to refer to the inhabitants on the sea-coast exclusively. The natives of the interior were perfect savages, lurking in the recesses of the woods, clad in skins, painting or tattooing their bodies, and neither sowing nor planting; verifying the description of the poet Spenser —
" But far in land a salvage nation dwelt Of hideous giaunts and halfe-beastly men, That never tasted grace, nor goodness felt ; But wild like beastes lurking in loathsome den.
* " The acorn properly so called is produced by the Robur," &c. + Swinburne's Travels in Spain, Letter ii. p. 85. I Library of Entertaining Knowledge, vol. ii. p. 4. 9 See a note in Mitford's History of Greece, vol. i. p. 8., for further information respecting the use of acorns as food.
Oil the Study of Nature and Science. 5
And flying fast as roebucke through the fen, All naked without shame or care of cold, By hunting and by spoiling liveden ; Of stature huge, and eke of corage bold. That sonnes of men amazd their sternesse to behold."
I am, Sir, yours, &c. Richmond, Yor^kshire. Nov. 7. 1830. T. E. L.
Art. II. On the Study of Nature and Science. By Joseph Hayward, Esq.
Sir, Although I am so unfortunate as neither to have pos- sessed leisure, nor perhaps inclination, to study the methodi- cal arrangements of botany or entomology, nor to have found room in my memory for their technical terms and distinctions, I have always been an admirer of Nature; my admiration principally arising from the beauty and elegance of her designs in the formation of all her subjects, and the all-per- fect adaptation of them to her ends. One object of your Ma- gazine must, no doubt, be to direct and attach the mind to the study of nature, in its simple as well as in its complex garb ; and therefore, though some of your more learned readers may think my abilities too limited, you, perhaps, may not think my endeavours to contribute to your miscellany unworthy of your notice. In studying nature, with whatever view, unless we confine ourselves to some definite object, we may be led, like too many authors, into the bewildering extreme of "perverting the study of nature into metaphysical subtlety and vain logo- machy." My observations have been chiefly, if not wholly, directed to those objects in which the exhibitions of beauty and demonstrations of utility are combined ; consequently, my attention has been given more to vegetables than animals : but as the one is so much dependent on the other, they cannot well be separated. Thus we find that the symmetrical forms designed by nature to be assumed by vegetables, are often obstructed and destroyed by their being made necessary to form the food and habitations of insects : and as it, therefore, happens that there are no means of preserving the one without destroying the other, we are necessitated to study the means of annihilating one object of beauty to preserve another. In the pursuit, however, of destruction, we are often permitted to enjoy the mental pleasure of contemplating an exhibition of the beautiful designs of Nature, and the all-perfect execu- tion of them, conformably to her ordinances.
B 3
5 On the Study of Nature and Science,
Having been balked in my endeavours to raise and train some young currant bushes in a particular manner, from their failing to grow so luxuriantly as I had reason to expect from the pains I had taken to prepare the soil, &c., I was led to a narrow examination of their exterior, in search of the cause ; and perceiving some wounds in the branches^ that had much the appearance of being made by the entrance of small shot, I cut off a branch, when I found that the medulla or pith was de- stroyed, and its place converted into a commodious apartment and passage for some insects. I traced it for several inches, and found it was occupied by a grub or maggot ; and knowing this must be the larva of some fly or moth, I determined on securing some of them at the proper season, to see the result of their transformations. Having obtained some in a chrysalis state, I placed them under a glass ; when, after some weeks, one of them produced a beautiful and most singularly formed insect, which appeared to be neither a fly nor a moth, but some- tliing between both, (^geri« ripulaeformis : see Samouelle's Ent. Useful Compend., 397.) I enclose you the insect ; but, fearing it may be destroyed in its journey, I annex a rough sketch. {Jig, I,) The colour of the bands ^ / of the body, and the veins of the wings, is a
black purple, and these, with the sides, legs, &c., are edged with gold ; the fan at the posterior, which is something like the tail of a lobster, is formed of feathers, laid one over another, the same as on the rump of a bird ; the wings lie on its back, much in the same position as those of a common fly. The exhibition and description of this fly, however, can only serve as an object of admiration. The means of preventing its mis- chievous ravages must be, to cut off* the branches, and, tracing it to its lodgment, to destroy it.
I will also describe what appeared to me to be a singular instance in the working of an insect, and which seems to prove that their powers of design and execution, in the formation of their apartments for lodging and fostering their young, are something more than instinctive. Accidentally standing and musing under a shed erected over a small rivulet in Wilt- shire, I observed a common wasp enter, afiix itself to the roof, and set about attaching something to one of the rafters, much in the same manner as martens do in building their nests ; and as I had always understood that those wasps made their nests under ground, curiosity led me to notice its operations, and the progress it made daily, for some weeks. It proceeded to form a cell of the shape and size of an acorn, depending, vith an entrance at the lower extremity. As soon as this was
On the Study of' Nature a?id Science, 7
completed, it began another, at a sufficient distance from the first to admit of its free passage between them ; as soon as this was finished, it began and completed another and an- other, and so on until the inverted cone was large enough to hold half a pint or more.
I could not perceive that there was more than one artist employed, until two or three shells had been formed, and the last one was as large as a hen's egg. About this time there were evidently two or three active labourers ; and these increased in number daily, until they became so numerous as to become a nuisance, when I determined on destroying them, and examining the interior of their mansions.
Having smothered, as I thought, all the tenants, I detached the fabric carefully from the rafter ; when, to my astonish- ment, instead of finding it composed of as many shells as I had seen formed one over the other, thus (Jig, 2. a), I found
the exterior shell only to re- tain its figure; the interior consisted of three or four tiers, formed with a regular range of cells, like a honeycomb, and fixed one to the other in the centre, thus (Z>). Many of the cells were covered, and some open. Whilst contem- plating this mysterious metamorphosis, I observed one of the coverings broken through by some active power within ; and, presently, out marched a fine and perfectly formed wasp, which, after a few seconds devoted to pluming and adjusting itself, flew off in all the glory of its perfect formation. In a few minutes another came forth, and then another, and so on. This led me to a further examination of the contents of the cells, and I found, in all those that were covered, wasps fully formed ; but in many of them their bodies were of a white jelly-like substance, some just turning colour, and some nearly arrived at perfection ; but all had their limbs perfectly formed, and folded, with perfect order and regularity, close to their bodies. The cells that were not covered I perceived to con- tain each a larva or grub, but of different sizes, advancing from a small point to the size of the wasp ; and as each of these appeared to be furnished with a pair of destructive jaws, and to be inclined to work them, I presented some pulp of fruit, which they received and devoured most ravenously. Hence it is evident that the wasps feed their young until they arrive at a certain age ; and this accounts for the ravages they make among fruits.
It also appears evident that the colonies of wasps, like bees, are divided and appropriated to the performance of different
B 4
8 On the Study of Nature and Science,
duties ; and although it seemed to me that all those which were in activity about the original nest possessed stings, many of those which afterwards came out did not : possibly these, like the drones among bees, were the males, and produced only at the close of the season. As it is evident that the lives of all are limited to the close of the autumn, how and in what state are the females preserved, to continue the breed ? In general, the female wasps make their appearance in April and May ; and as each of these is found to be the origin and mother of a colony, I always take every means in my power to destroy all that can be met with at that time.
I once found a circle of six or eight cells, each containing a larva approaching to the perfect state, in some old thatch that had been thrown off a wall during the winter, which I supposed to be female wasps ; but I could not exactly make out whether they were so, or humble bees.
Whilst writing, I will take the liberty to remark, that, as science is " demonstrative truth," all writers who profess to ground their works on science should adhere to it in their descriptions ; as without this the unerring principles of science are often deprived of the confidence due, from being con- founded with the fallacious suppositions of theory : and thus unjust prejudices are raised and increased against books on science : and further, when the objects of Nature are misre- presented, her designs are made to appear imperfect; and hence one of the important effects of the study of nature is unjustly depreciated. I am led to make these observations by a description of your fair correspondent. Miss Kent ( Vol. I. p. 223.) ; wherein, upon describing the different parts of a flower, she says of the pistil : " The stigma is more or less covered with a glutinous moisture ; the pollen being shed upon this part, adheres to the glutinous moisture, and, by means of the hollow style which connects it with the germen, feeds the young fruit until it has attained its full growth. Thus sits the style, like a hen bird upon her eggs ; while the stamen, like a tender mate, supplies her with food." Whereas, the fact is, the style merely forms a channel for conveying the living principle contained in the pollen to the embryo seeds ; which operation being effected, it withers and dies, and this long before either the fruit or seeds attain their full growth.
I am. Sir, yours, &c. WeymoutJi, JuLy^ 1829. Joseph Hayward.
Auditorj/ Apertures as Auxiliaries iii Classification. 9
Art. III. On the Auditory Apertures in the Shulls of Qttadrupeds and Birds, as auxiliaries in Classification, By W. Farrar, Esq., M.D.
Sir, I HAVE been induced, for some time back, to pay a con- siderable share of attention to the position of the auditory canal in various animals, from having accidentally remarked, when engaged in researches m comparative anatomy, the dif- ferent situations of this tube in the pursued and pursuing ani- mals. From what has fallen under my notice, I think this portion of the animal structure has received but little atten- tion ; at any rate, much less than I feel inclined to claim for it. I am further of opinion, that the form and situation of this organ, or its tubulated external portion, might be made a very useful auxiliary in classing quadrupeds (and particu- larly the fossil specimens of them), as well as in arriving at a more correct knowledge of their habits and modes of exist- ence. I have selected a few well known animals, to show the most opposite extremes in which the auditory canal is placed, for the amusement, if not for the edification, of your readers. To commence with the skull of the hare. ( fig. 3.) When
the skull of 3 .„ai^^^^^^^^^ the animal is
placed hori- zontally before you, the tu- bulated bony portion of the external ear is seen nearly half an inch in length, and a quarter of an inch in diame- ter, pointing backwards and upwards, at an angle of 45° or thereabouts. To this tube (a) in the living animal is attached the external ear, which is moved in various directions to suit the purposes of the animal, as will be subsequently mentioned. This animal is a pursued one ; and, as such, it is indebted for its safety to a quick perception of danger, by means of its ex- ternal senses. The least remarkable of these is certainly not that of hearing : viewed externally, we find long open ears, for the most part inclining backwards ; but also occasionally for- ward, as well as laterally. These are moved into various attitudes by muscles placed for that purpose, and thus serve
lO Auditory Apertures in Quadrupeds and Birds,
as excellent media for collecting sounds, and transmitting them, through the bony portion of the canal, to the internal ear. That these organs are valuable adjuvants to another sense (that of sight) no one will doubt, especially when he recollects that animals of this class, although possessing a very wide expanse of sight, yet do not enjoy an equally dis- tant one ; which is not to be wondered at, when we look at the diminutive stature they exhibit : yet for this loss they are compensated, by having the sense of hearing very acute from a number of points, though much more from behind than in any other direction. Many persons contend that the hare cannot distinguish sounds immediately before her, which is not unlikely when we consider the bony structure of the external ear ; however, this is not absolutely necessary, as her prominent eyes scarcely allow any object to approach her without some part of its shadow being depicted upon the retina, and thus communicatino: the alarm to the timid animal.
As a contrast to the situation of the auditory tube in the hare, I shall now mention that of the polecat {Jig. 4.);
which animal is, as is well known, a pursuing one : consequently re- quiring its external senses, or rather the communications for con- veying impressions, to them as forward as pos- sible. This animal has its external auditory tube similar in length and diameter to the hare's ; placed at an angle of 45^ (a), but pointing from behind, in a direction downwards and forwards ; in fact, the very opposite to the position described in the hare. When we consider the habits of this animal, and behold the structure containing one sense acting in concert with and supporting another still more valu- able to the animal's existence, we cannot but wonder at the excellence of arrangements that provides for wants which mere human ingenuity can only comprehend, but could never supply.
From this tube being placed very forward, we should natu- rally conclude that this animal's sense of hearing is necessa- rily much less acute from behind than before : this supposition I am inclined strongly to support, from the following circum- stance : — A farmer in the neighbourhood had his poultry disturbed on several successive niirhts, but could not make out the cause ; till one day he discovered, near his residence.
as Auxiliaries in Classification.
11
a couple of these vermin gamboling in a very frolicsome manner. Without disturbing them, he returned hastily to his house, got his gun loaded, and then went back to look for his visitors. Approaching them cautiously from behind, he was enabled to come within a very few yards of them. He levelled his gun, but it missed fire. This occurred five or six times, without a single spark being elicited from his flint ; and notwithstanding all this hammering in their rear, the animals never were in the least alarmed. Fortune, however, at last favoured him, and he was enabled to obtain one of them ; but the other made its escape.
I was much puzzled with his recital of this circumstance ; and could not in any manner satisfactorily account for it, till I examined its skull minutely (having obtained it for a skele- ton), and then discovered its auditory canal situated in the position before mentioned.
This investigation satisfied my mind, that though this ani- mal may hear sounds behind it, yet they are only heard im- perfectly ; otherwise it must have taken alarm at the many attempts to fire the gun. Applying this analogy to the hare, we may suppose that this animal, whose external tube is placed backward, would not distinguish sounds very distinctly in front of her. Many facts in the natural history of the hare might be produced to support this idea, but one will suffice : — A hare, pursued by greyhounds along a turnpike road, was seen by a woman approaching her immediately in front : she knelt down, and the hare ran fairly into her apron, which was stretched out to receive him. This circumstance clearly proves that poor puss was much more occupied from dangers behind than those which so unfortunately were placed before her.
The next animal is one which, although predatory in its habits, does not obtain its prey by pursuit, but steals upon it unawares ; and, as such, is much indebted to the excellence of its outward perceptions for the ease with which it seizes its victims.
This animal is the fox. On examination, we find the external portion of his auditory structure {Jig. 5. a) is not tubulated in a similar manner to the two former instances ;
13 Auditory Aperttires in Quadrupeds and Birds,
but, on the contrary, is expanded principally from behind, in a forward direction, into nearly a circular aperture. This opening is very well adapted, when the head is thrown late- rally and upwards, for receiving sounds from above. His prey is usually met with in hen-roosts, or perched on trees ; and his mode of taking them by surprise induces him to ap- proach them stealthily. Hence arises the necessity of sounds indicating their immediate presence being transmitted to the sensorium as soon as possible. The moment his ear indicates his prey above him, his eye is immediately turned in that direc- tion ; and thus, if within his reach, is very speedily captured. What more beautiful provision for this animal's necessities could be met with than those with which he appears to be pro- vided? His ears first give the indication of the presence of his prey, and his eye instantly contemplates the object of his pursuit. Hitherto I have not been able to meet with any animal whose auditory structure is the opposite to that of the fox, viz. one where the outward ear is expanded into a nearly cir- cular form, but arched, and overhanging from above down- wards : hence I am compelled to look into the class of birds ; and here an instance immediately offers itself in the owl genus, where the above-mentioned structure is very well defined. This formation, by a little observation, we find to be exceed- ingly valuable to this bird : indeed, wanting it, he could scarcely procure food sufficient for supporting his existence. He never hunts or goes abroad for food except in twilight; and even then, when in an old building where his prey abounds, he will be seen perched majestically and silently upon any projecting substance whatever. Thus elevated above the ground, sounds indicating his prey must ascend, and are received by the arched, overhanging, and concave external bony structure of his ear. {Jig, 6. a) This function
being roused, his head is naturally turned into the direction whence the sounds emanate ; and he is thus enabled to discover, if not always to seize, his prey. Here it may be proper to remark, that the owPs eyes are immovable in their sockets ; but that the very extensive motion of its head upon the spine enables the object to be seen in any direction, wherever its other faculties indicate.
Having thus briefly pointed out examples of different struc- ture in the organ of hearing, and alluded also to some of their habits where the utility of such structure is valuable, not only to animal preservation but also to subsistence, I shall now beg
as Auxiliaries in Classification* 1 3
leave to state a singularity in the hedgehog, and solicit fur- ther elucidation from any of your readers who may be willing to communicate their knowledge upon so interesting a subject.
My kitchen being much infested with the black beetle (Slatta orientalis), 1 introduced a hedgehog for the purpose of ridding me of such a nuisance, which they really are when abounding in numbers.
After keeping it a few days, it became quite domesticated ; so much so as to feed from the hand, without being the least intimidated. I devoted a good deal of attention to the observ- ation of its perceptions both of sight and hearing, but could never satisfactorily make out that the latter was at all of ser- vice to it, as nothing seemed to give it any alarm, unless that alarm was communicated through the medium of the organs of vision. His sight, on the contrary, was very quick ; and not only so to near objects, but also to those more distant. As an example, he would discover a beetle at a distance of 1 2 or 14 feet, and have it in possession immediately. His sense of smell seemed tolerably acute, as he would repeatedly apply his nose to fresh substances before tasting them. After rid- ding my kitchen, I transferred him to a friend for the same purpose ; but there he unfortunately soon died.
As his services when living had been very useful, I was anxious for him when dead, to bestow his remains for the purposes of dissection, that the structure of his auditory faculty might be developed as far as possible. External ears he certainly had, and these were placed forward in the skull ; but as for any external aperture communicating with the brain for the purpose of hearing, not the slightest opening could I discover. Thinking his case might be a solitary one, I pro- cured another for dissection; and the like result followed. Much surprised at this investigation, I have consulted many sportsmen and gamekeepers, who all assure me that his sense of hearing is very acute ; but when closely pressed, whether or not his alarms are received through the organs of vision or hearing, they seem doubtful.
I shall conclude these remarks by asking a few questions, the solution of which may clear away the apparent mystery in which the question is involved.
Has any author on comparative anatomy pointed out the structure of the external or internal ear ?
What are the powers of hearing he really does enjoy, inde- pendently of sight ?
What purposes in his economy would the organ of hearing assist, as far as it regards his habits ?
I am. Sir, yours. &c. Barnsley, March 16. 1830. W. Farrar, M.D.
14 Anatomy and Physiology
Art. IV. A familiar Treatise on the Anatomy and Physiology of the Organs of Vision in Man and other Animals. By B. S.
Sir,
Your article on the " use of the botanic microscope" (Vol. III. p. 184.) has induced me to put together the follow- ing extracts from my own private journal. Should you agree with me that they might prove useful towards promoting a taste for natural history, by turning the attention of beginners to anatomical pursuits (without some knowledge of which no one can become a naturalist), or by assisting them in the ma- nagement of the microscope, I feel sure you will not grudge the space which the paper w^ill occupy. The prevailing taste for natural history has fortunately dispelled that dread which was at one time prevalent at the bare idea of anatomical in- vestigation as a rational amusement ; but even now there are some who are of opinion that these pursuits lead to hypo- chondriasis, and that many individuals are thus worked up to imagine themselves attacked by every disease to " which flesh is heir," and hence become the prey of designing quacks, and allow themselves to be made the receptacles of all the elixirs, pills, lotions, and God knows what other nameless compounds (some harmless, some dangerous — all expensive), which every nostrum-monger and dealer in superior advice concocts, ad- vertises, and dispenses, solely for the good of the public, of course. I am quite of a contrary opinion : the charlatan dreads the idea of his expected victim gaining any knowledge of the structure of that frame into which all his stuff is poured, lest his own ignorance should be discovered, and his trade fail. Natural history is one of the best means of dispelling the dis- ease called the vapours, as it tends to withdraw the mind from brooding over fancied ills, and promotes healthy bodily exer- cise. Whoever, indeed, takes the most cursory view of the natural objects which surround him, cannot but observe that, however much they may differ in figure, structure, dimension, temperature, and their component parts, each has its own espe- cial office to perform in the vast and beautiful economy of the universe ; that nothing is without its use, from the greatest to the most minute substance ; and, lastly, that all these tend, either directly or remotely, to the comfort, the welfare, and the happiness of mankind. I do not, therefore, apprehend that any body who peruses the outline of the construction of the eye, in a state of health, will rise from the perusal with any great sensations of approaching Blejphar ophthalmia^ or any other sesquipedalian complaint.
Every part of every object which surrounds us sends off
of the Organs of Vision. 15
rays of light, or pencils of light, which enter the eye ; they are there refracted by the different humours ; and at last, by unit- ing into a focus or point on the retina, form a perfect picture of the objects from which they proceed. The impression which is thus conveyed to the mind, through the medium of the brain, constitutes the faculty which we call " vision." The beautifully contrived instrument by which these changes and impressions are effected and conveyed is called the ei/e. This consists of a ball^ which is not a very regular sphere, though it is usually called spherical ; the protuberance of the cornea makes it bulge out in front. The eyeball is composed of a certain number of coats or tunics^ and these serve as coverings to the humours beneath. The tunics are : 1st, the sclerotica {fg. 7. s), which forms nearly the whole of the outside covering ^ „ of the orb or ball of
-^=- the eye. It is, as
its name indicates (from sklerod, to harden), hard and firm. In the ante- rior portion of the orb is placed the second tunic, called also, from its nature, cdrnea transpdrens (c) (transparent horn). This is fitted into the first coat like a glass into the frame of a clock. Immediately within the first tunic, or sclerotica, is the choroid (c) [chorion^ from choreo, to escape, and eidos, likeness. The chorion is a membrane which is attached to the fcetus, and escapes with it at birth : from its likeness to this membrane, the third tunic of the eye derives its name.) The choroid is lined with a black liquid, called the nigrum pigmentum (paint), and adheres to the internal surface of the sclerotica ; but when it reaches the edge of the latter, instead of being continued within the concave (or hol- low) surface of the cornea, it hangs loosely down like a circu- lar curtain, and forms the iris (i) (a rainbow) : and according to the colour of the iris, in different individuals, the eye is said to be blue, brown, grey, black, &c. The posterior surface of the iris is called the uvea (so called because in beasts, which the ancients chiefly dissected, it is found of a grape colour ; uva meaning in Latin a grape). The large black hole in the centre of the eye, surrounded by the iris, is called the pupa (a puppet) or pupil (p). The blackness of this hole is owing to the nigrum pigmentum which lines the choroid. The French derive their term poupee, signifying a doll, from pupa ; and the Greek anatomists termed the pupil kore, signifying a diminutive person ; because, when we look at ourselves in a
1$
Attempt to naturalise
glass, we perceive a perfect representation of our figure, occu- pying that black spot behind the cornea, of very small dimen- sions. The fourth coat is the i^etina (from rete, a net), which is a very delicate network spread within the choroid, as far as where that membrane or tunic meets the cornea. The retina is an expansion of the optic nerve, which enters the eye- ball at the posterior part, through a hole made for its passage, rather nearer the nose than the centre of the orb. The optic nerve arises from the brain ; but in some experiments conducted by Dr. Wilson Philip, I believe, the thalami nervorum opti- corum, whence this second pair of nerves (as the optic nerves are called) originates, were destroyed in some animals, and the eyes did not seem to have lost their powers !
I am, Sir, yours, &c. May, 1830. B. S.
(To be continued.)
Art. V. Notice of an Attempt to naturalise the Virginian Partridge in England, By J. C, Staffordshire.
Sir, I TAKE the liberty of sending you a few observations upon the habits and manners of a recently imported bird from America, which M. Audubon denominates the Virginian partridge, accompanied by a drawing (^^.8., male and female) taken from the birds in my possession.
A few years ago I purchased two brace of these elegant little birds from Mr. Cross of Exeter Change, London, and
the Virgmia7i Partridge. 17
brought them home with me in the coach. I have a small garden, walled round and covered over with wire, into which I turned them, but each brace separated from the other by a wire partition. Towards the latter end of May 1 perceived one of the cock birds carrying straws, and twisting them about over his head ; and 1 found they were making a nest within a bundle of pea-sticks, which were placed in the garden for them to run under and hide themselves.
This nest was the joint production of male and female ; it was placed on the ground within the pea-sticks, and shaped much like a wren's, with a hole on one side, and covered over at top. After the hen had laid about twelve eggs she began to sit, and with as much assiduity as our common hen. When I thought it was her time to hatch I examined the nest, and found it deserted, and the egg-shells, which had evidently contained young birds, lying about. Much pleased with this circumstance, I went cautiously about to find the dam with her little ones, and, after searching a considerable time, the first intimation I had of her presence was from her flying in my face with great agitation, like our common hen. I retired much gratified, and observed the young ones, nine in number, collect again under the wings of their mother. I'he assiduity of this excellent parent was truly exemplary, and her attention unremitting, and she reared them every one with very little trouble. What is very singular, there were eight cocks and but one hen, all of whom were reared till they moulted, and got their adult plumage ; when, from some cause which I could never ascertain, they began to droop one after another, and before Christmas all the young birds died. Though I examined the stomachs and gizzards of most of them, yet I never could find out the cause of their deaths ; but I have little doubt of its being some deleterious sub- stance picl|g^ up in the place where I separated them from the old ones,, soon after they became full fledged, as the old birds escaped this mortality, and the cock bird is now living (October, 1830).
The other pair never bred, but it was easily accounted for, as the hen was unwell from the first time I turned them down, and she lingered on to October and then died.
Previously to and during the time the hen was sitting the cock serenaded her with his harsh and singular notes, some of them very similar to the mewing of a cat. He had also a peculiarity of constantly running round in a circle, till the ground whereon he performed his evolutions was worn as bare as a road, and the turf trodden down much in the same
Vol. IV. — No. 17. c
18 Attempt to naturalise the Vh^ginian Partridge,
way as it is by the rufF in the fens during the season of in- cubation.
Nothing could be more cordial and harmonious than this happy family. When the shades of evening approached they crowded together in a circle on the ground, and prepared for the slumbers of the night by placing their tails all together, with their pretty mottled chins facing to the front in a watch- ful round-robin.
When food was thrown in for them, which consisted chiefly of spirted barley and wheat, and occasionally bread, the male bird would peck at the grain, but not eat any himself until he had called his family around him, first to partake of the food ; which he did with many soft blandishments, and with much strutting and spreading of the wings and tail.
I was much disappointed at the loss of this interesting family ; and I waited with some impatience for the result of another season. The season at length arrived : they built their nest again as usual; the hen laid about sixteen eggs; when, to my great mortification, just as she had begun to sit, I found her dead one morning, and can no otherwise account for the circumstance than by supposing that something must have frightened her in the night and caused her to fly up with violence against the wires, which proved fatal to her. Thus ended my hopes of domesticating this elegant little bird, as I have never been able to procure another female, though I have applied in London for that purpose. The guard of a coach informed me that he had the care of a basket of these birds by his coach ; that they all, by some accident, got out and flew away ; and that in the part of the country where they made their escape (which I have now forgotten) they had bred and increased exceedingly. I have also heard of their doing well in some parts of the south of this kingdom. I know that a quantity were turned down upon the large de- mesne of Kdward John Littleton, Esq. M.P., at Teddesley, in Staffordshire, and that they did not breed at all, but straggled away, and some of them were shot ten or fifteen miles from his estate.
I should feel much obliged by any of your correspondents informing me where I could procure some living specimens of this bird, as I should much wish to breed some more, and turn them out, if I became successful, as they lay many eggs, and are much more easily reared than either pheasants or partridges.
Staffordshire, October, 1830. J. C.
Anecdotes of' a tame Hawk. 19
Art. VI. Anecdotes of a tame Hawk. By W. B. Clarke, Esq.
Sir,
About three years since a young sparrowhawk was pur- chased and brought up by my brother. This was rather hazardous, as he, at the same time, had a large stock of fancy pigeons, which, in consequence of their rarity and value, he greatly prized. It seems, however, that kindness and care had softened the nature of the hawk, or the regularity with which he was fed rendered the usual habits of his family unnecessary to his happiness ; for, as he increased in age and size, his familiarity increased also, leading him to form an intimate acquaintance with a set of friends who have been seldom seen in such society. Whenever the pigeons came to feed, which they did oftentimes from the hand of their almoner, the hawk used also to accompany them. At first the pigeons were shy, of course ; but, by degrees, they got over their fears, and ate as confidently as if the ancient enemies of their race had sent no representative to their banquet. It was curious to observe the playfulness of the hawk, and his perfect good-nature during the entertainment ; for he received his morsel of meat without any of that ferocity with which birds of prey usually take their food, and merely uttered a cry of lamentation when the carver disappeared. He would then attend the pigeons in their flight round and round the house and gardens, and perch with them on the chimney-top, or roof of the mansion ; and this voyage he never failed to make early in the morning, when the pigeons always took their exercise. At night he retired with them to the dovecote : and though for some days he was the sole occupant of the place, the pigeons not having relished this intrusion at first, he was afterwards merely a guest there ; for he never disturbed his hospitable friends, even when their young ones, unfledged and helpless as they were, offered a strong temptation to his appetite. He seemed unhappy at any separation from the pigeons, and invariably returned to the dove-house, after a few days purposed confinement in another abode, during which imprisonment he would utter most melancholy cries for deliverance ; but these were changed to cries of joy on the arrival of any person with whom he was familiar. All the household were on terms of acquaintance with him ; and there never was a bird who seemed to have won such general admiration. He was as playful as a kitten, and, literally, as loving as a dove.
But that his nature was not altogether altered, and that, notwithstanding his education, which, as Ovid savs,
c 2
20 Breathing' lube of the Boa.
" Emollit mot«s, nee sinit esse feros," *
he was still a hawk in spirit, was proved on an occasion of almost equal interest. A neighbour had sent us a very fine specimen of the smaller horned owl (*Strix brachybtus), which he had winged when flying in the midst of a covey of partridges ; and after having tended the wounded limb, and endeavoured to make a cure, we thought of soothing the prisoner's captivity by a larger degree of freedom than he had in the hen-coop which he inhabited. No sooner, however, had our former acquaintance, the hawk, got sight of him, than he fell upon the poor owl most unmercifully ; and from that instant, whenever they came in contact, a series of com- bats commenced, which equalled in skill and courage any of those which have so much distinguished that great hero [?], who to the boldness and clearness of vision of the hawk unites the wisdom of the bird of Athens. The defence of the poor little owl was admirably conducted : he would throw himself iipon his back, and await the attack of his enemy with patience and preparation ; and, by dint of biting and scratching, would frequently win a positive, as he often did a negative, victory. Acquaintanceship did not seem, in this case, likely to ripen into friendship; and when his wing had gained strength, taking advantage of a favourable opportunity, the owl de- camped, leaving the hawk in possession of his territory.
The fate of the successful combatant was, however, soon to be accomplished ; for he was shortly after found drowned in a butt of water, from which he had once or twice been extri- cated before, having summoned a deliverer to his assistance by cries that told he was in distress. There was great lament- ation when he died throughout the family ; and it was observed by more than one person, that that portion of the dovecote in which he was wont to pass the night was for some time unoc- cupied by the pigeons with whom he had lived so peaceably, even during his wars with the unfortunate owl.
W. B. Clarke. East BerghoU, Suffolk, September 21. 1830.
Art. VII. Notice of the Breaihiiig-Tube of the Boa, By Bartholomew Dillon, Esq.
Sir, Several years ago I had an opportunity (the only one in my life) of witnessing the rare sight of a boa feeding. Its
* " Softens the manners, nor permits to be cruel."
EiUtomological Notes. .21
prey was a rabbit; and when the little animal was drawn into its mouth, up to the shoulders, it became matter of wonder to me how the reptile supported respiration, for its mouth and nostrils seemed to be completely stopped. Stooping down for the purpose of watching the process of deglutition more closely, my attention was arrested by the appearance of a breathing-tube, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, pro- jecting from the lower jaw, to the extent of an inch or more out of the mouth, as if an elongation of the trachea : it lay close up to the breast of the rabbit, and was, of course, con- cealed by its body. The keeper of the reptile had never before noticed this singular air-tube, and it was as much a matter of astonishment to him as to myself; but having no kind of familiarity or intimacy with each other, he felt disin- clined to allow me to prosecute the investigation any further : indeed, I believe, he feared lest the serpent might receive some injury from being handled* However, I discovered quite suf- ficient to satisfy my mind that this curious formation was of service to the serpent, by affording it free respiration when its mouth and nostrils were closed by the body of the rabbit.
I have not, ever since, had the means of perfecting this enquiry; and am now induced to mention the fact, hoping that some of your correspondents, who are more favourably circumstanced than myself, will embrace the first opportunity to verify the observation, and examine this wonderful contri- vance with the deojree of attention it merits.
I am, Sir, yours, &c. Wrexham, Nov. 17. 1830. Bartholomew Dillon.
Art. VIII. Entomological Notes. By J. C. Dale, Esq.
Sir,
As Kirby and Spence {Introd. to E/itom., vol. iv. p. 201.) mention a singular monstrosity in Chrysomela haemoptera, in the cabinet of Mr. Curtis, and which is figured in his JBr. Ent., (plate 111. fig. 5.), where part of an extra-leg is attached to the extremity of the femur of one of the hinder legs, I beg to inform you that I have added to my cabinet a specimen of an iE^mphytus (?) with seven complete legs, the supernumerary one being placed between the fore and middle ones on the left side, lately taken and presented to me by my friend Mr. Morris of Charmouth,
I have also added a specimen of Chrysomela cerealis, cap- tured and presented by W. Hey, Esq., who found it near the
c 3
22 E?ttomological Notes.
summit of Snowdon, in Wales, in the beginning of July,
1 828 ; and it has been again found there this season, by
Fox, Esq. : thereby confirming it as a British insect, as men- tioned by Donovan {Br, Ins,, pi. 115.), where it is said to have been " taken on a mountain in Wales, by the Rev. H. Davies of Beaumaris, and also by Mr. Hudson," whose authority has been lately more than suspected ; because the species (or one very similar) has been imported in cork, one of which I re- ceived from the late Mr. Miller of Bristol, it is of a duller colour, and more round in its form. Geometra trepidaria (of Haw,) has lately been said to be the same insect as ^ombyx Sabinz, which was found in Melville Island by Capt. Parry ; but Mr. Kirby, in the appendix to Parryh Voyage, says, " Antennae of the male setaceous, bipectinate at the base, with short rays ,-'* from which I suspected the specimen of trepidaria I took on Schichalion must be a female, although the form of the abdomen seemed to point it out as a male. I have since been favoured with a sight of Mr. Haworth's specimen, taken by Professor Hooker at the same place, and, it is decidedly a female ; and mine is decidedly a male, and the antennae not bipectinate at all. B, Sabin? (which Mr. Kirby once showed me) must, therefore, be distinct.
When at the Edinburgh museum I was shown a Papilio MelitaeV, somewhat allied to Selena (qu. Tulli« ?) but duller ; an Anarta, larger than myrtilli, with under wings white ; a J56mbyx, allied to dispar, and another to fascelma, with the exuviae of their larvae and pupae ; also Tipulae, Muscae, &c., all from Melville Island, taken and presented by Mr. Fisher. I mention this, as Mr. Kirby states that only six species, viz. J56mbyx Sabin/, a caterpillar of the genus Laria (probably allied to fascelina), J56mbus arcticus, Ctenophora Parrn, Chi- ronomus polaris, and ^ranea melvillensis, were found in Winter Harbour. I have since received a specimen of the Laria from that place, and also a MelitaeV, which I think the same species, from the late Mr. Miller of Bristol, who writes " from Whale Island, Captain Parry." I saw at the Edin* burgh museum also a pair of Penthophera detrita (?) and a pair of M5rio (?) (or some near allies) set in "English fashion," but I could not learn their localities or history. In Parry's voy- age to the North Pole, two of A^phis borealis Curtis were taken on the ice, lat. 82° 26' 44'^, and long. 20° 32' 13'^ E., July 16. 1827, 100 miles from the nearest known land, one of which I saw in the collection of Mr. Curtis.
On my way home from Scotland, I visited the museums at Keswick (two), Kendal, Liverpool, and Manchester (two), where I saw three specimens of Hesperia Oileus of Ent, Trans,, in fine condition, and set in the " English fashion," bought by
Chysomela ceredlis in North Wales. 23
the late L. Phillips, Esq., " from Leman's ancient English cabinet," and the same as one I had from the cabinet of the late Dr. Abbot, said to be taken " by him in Bedfordshire:" but, in looking over Mr. Haworth's collection, the insect in question is ticketed Syrichtus, and is lighter than his Oileu5, though very similar in markings. I was glad to find that natural history is so much encouraged in the north, and hope to see it so in the south.
I am, Sir, yours, &c. Glanmlle's Wootton, Sept 19. 1830. J. C. Dale.
Art. IX. Notice of the recent Capture of Chrysomela ceredlis in North Wales, By John Black wall, Esq. F.L.S.
Sir,
Considering the extensive commercial intercourse carried on between this country and other regions of the globe, much vigilance and circumspection are requisite, on the part of our entomologists, in order to avoid the introduction of foreign insects as British into their collections and catalogues ; since it is well known that many exotic species ate conveyed with facility to great distances in various articles of traffic. How- far it may be deemed objectionable to enumerate as indige- nous those insects which have been long introduced to our shores, and are become thoroughly naturalised among us, I shall not now discuss ; but that considerable caution should be employed in the admission of new British species cannot, I am persuaded, be insisted upon too strongly. Under the influence of this impression, some of the ablest entomologists of the present day entertain doubts as to the propriety of giving that exceedingly rare and brilliant beetle, Chrysomela cerealis, a place in the British Fauna; notwithstanding Mr. Donovan, in his Natural History of British Insects (vol. iv. p. 20.), includes it among the British Chrysomelae, on the authority of the late Mr. Hudson, author of the Flora A^nglica, &c., " who," he remarks, " appears to be the only naturalist that has taken it in Great Britain, except the Rev. Hugh Davies of Beaumaris, who also met with a specimen of it on a mountain in Wales some years since." If the instances of its recent capture among the mountains of Caernarvonshire, in North Wales, which I am about to relate, should contri- bute to remove these scruples, I shall feel gratified in having directed public attention to them.
On the 2d of June, 1830, Thomas Glover, Esq., of Smed-
c 4?
24 Comparison of the Floras of
ley Hill, near Manchester, in descending from Garn, a moun- tain situated between Nant Francon and the Pass of Llanberis, to Cwm Idwal, discovered under a detached piece of rock, many hundred feet below its summit, a fine living specimen of Chrysomela cerealis ; and the abdomen of a smaller indivi- dual, which, unluckily, had been destroyed. From the dis- parity in point of size, it is very probable that the sex of these specimens is different; but it would be hasty to pronounce them male and female, unless they were proved to be so by dissection, which would render them unsuitable for the cabi- net. I saw both specimens, which still remain in Mr. Glover's possession, soon after they were procured : the perfect one was then alive, and was certainly a very splendid insect. Stimu- lated by his success, Mr. Glover continued his search with redoubled ardour, but was not so fortunate as to meet with another individual.
I may observe, that, among the mountains constituting the district termed Snodonia, vast numbers of beetles are destroyed by foxes, which prey upon them freely, as is evident from the elytra and other indigestible parts contained in their faeces.
A good living specimen of Chrysomela cerealis was obtained in the same locality, in the summer of 1829. It is now in the cabinet of that excellent practical naturalist the late Mr. Ed- ward Hobson of Manchester.
I am, Sir, yours, &c. Crumpsall Hall^ Sept, 30. 1830. John Blackwall.
Art. X. A Sketch of the Flora of Richmond, Yorkshire, as com- pared with that of Thirsk, in the. same County, By T. E. L.
Sir, The town of Richmond is situated at the lower extremity of a deep valley, through which the rapid river Swale mean- ders, here about thirty miles from its source. The general aspect of the neighbouring country is much varied, and justly famed for the bold and romantic scenery it presents. Along the banks of the river the country is well wooded, though the trees seldom arrive at any great size. Those which most commonly prevail are, the ash, the elm, the mountain ash, and the oak ; while the underwood is generally the hazel, mixed with several species of Ribes, Viburnum O'pulus, Z)aphne Laureola, &c. The hornbeam is not found in this neighbourhood. As we advance from the river, and ascend to the high grounds, the land is of a poorer quality, and the woods, if any, are principally fir.
Richmond mid Thirsk, in Ym'kshire. 25
The bed of the river is rocky, and contains frequently masses of granite, porous sandstone, and sometimes fragments of trap-rocks. The valley at Richmond is but narrow, and the opposite sides are formed of rocks of the carboniferous or mountain limestone, which here generally prevails. After passing Richmond the valley widens, and the aspect as well as the geological structure of the country alters until we enter the red marl or new red sandstone district, which runs through the whole of the celebrated vale of Mowbray, as far as the city of York ; forming a level plain, rich and extremely fer- tile at the base of the lias range of the Hambletons. The valley at its greatest breadth is nearly thirty miles across, bounded on the east by the Hambletons, and on the west by Pen Hill and the Wensley Dale range.
Leaving Richmond, and advancing up the valley, the scene is of the most romantic description. On the right bank the mountain limestone rises to the height of 1 50 or 200 ft., and in many instances presents the appearance of the embattled walls and turrets of a castellated building. From the summit of these cliffs the mayor of Richmond, at a remote period, was precipitated by his horse, while out hunting, when he most miraculously escaped, at the cost of a \eg^ though his horse was killed upon the spot. These rocks, as is generally the case, are full of fissures, some of which reach to a con- siderable depth below the surface. It is no uncommon occur- rence in the crevices to find small pieces of galena.
Further up the valley veins of lead are not uncommon ; and proceeding to Arkindale, sixteen miles up the dale, the mines are rich and numerous. The ore not unfrequently contains an admixture of silver ; there occurs, besides, carburet of lead, sulphuret and carbonate of copper, oxide of zinc, iron pyrites, sulphate and carbonate of barytes, and crystallised quartz, with many other mineral substances. The thickness of the mountain limestone varies ; perhaps we may not exceed the mark in assigning it an elevation of 300 or 400 ft. ; it is not unfrequently surmounted by the millstone grit. In height, above the level of the sea, it cannot fall short of 800 ft. The springs are numerous, and hold a good deal of calcareous matter in solution. The agricultural character of the land on the high grounds is poor, and not of much value ; but the bases of the hills furnish good pasturage. It appears more than probable that the narrow defile through which the river runs has been formed by some convulsion of nature, as the force of water, or the action of some violent earthquake, though at a very remote period. There are evident proofs of the valleys having been narrower in former times. At the foot
26 Comparison of the Floras of
of the clifF the ground is covered with masses of limestone, which have fallen down from the rocks above. Indeed, the pastures shelving down to the river, at a few inches below the surface, are composed of the debris which have by degrees fallen, and are now become clothed with grass. Near Rich- mond a vein of copper passes underneath the bed of the river ; it was once worked, but, having been found a losing concern, it was given up.
As we ascend the river a circular hill, named the Round How, is seen on the left bank, of much interest to the geolo- gist. On the side facing the river it slopes with a gentle descent, but on the opposite side it is precipitous, covered with loose masses of stone, and overgrown with underwood. It is completely detached by a narrow defile from the hills, which form a semicircle behind it, and evidently appears to have been cut off by some great acting force from them. The same appearance, though to a much greater extent, is pre- sented by Hood Hill, a circular mountain, in like manner detached from the Hambleton Hills, and standing quite alone. It is backed by Roulston Scarr, which is composed of the old red sandstone, and rises to the height of about 800 ft. above the level of the sea.
The woods in the neighbourhood of Richmond vary much in their appearance, and no less so in their vegetable produc- tions. Indeed, even on the opposite wooded banks of the river, the plants frequently differ in a surprising degree. Most of the vegetables peculiar to the limestone districts are found here in abundance. The bogs are seldom or never of a peat character, and are formed by the rain which falls in the spring, and by the mosses, especially A^phagna, is long retained. On the higher grounds fir woods almost exclusively prevail ; and a striking difference may be observed between the vege- table productions of the upland and lowland woods. In the neighbourhood of Thirsk peat bogs are not unfrequent ; and it may not be uninteresting to observe the difference of vege- tation between them and those in a limestone district. I have generally remarked that peat produces the rarest plants ; but to compare the two : —
In a large bog near Richmond we find Calluna vulgaris, ^rica cinerea and Tetralix, all flourishing extremely well ; in peat E, Tetralix alone. Faccinium Myrtillus and JS''mpetrum nigrum we have in vast quantities; in Leckby Car, a peat bog near Thirsk, Oxycoccus palustris takes the place of V. Myrtillus : the Eriophora flourish equally in both. With us, O'phrys cordata, 5'phagnum, Polytrichum, ^lola palustris, several species of ferns, carexes, &c., principally abound,
Richmond and Thirsk^ in Yorkshire. 2?
none of which occur at Leckby ; while, on the other hand, Scheuchzer/« palustris (the only British habitat), Comarum palustre, Drosera anglica and rotundifolia, Rhynchospora alba, Z^ysimachia thyrsiflora, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, unknown to us, occur there. Mosses and ferns abound on limestone, but you might in vain look for them in the neighbourhood of Thirsk on the red marl ; nor would you meet with the com- mon *Saxifragae, Trollius, Aquilegia, Orchideae (except O. ma- culata), Pyrolae, Solidago, Ribes, or Asperula, which, in the neighbourhood of Richmond, appear in profusion. The fox- glove grows plentifully upon the high grounds, particularly in the light vegetable mould in the fir woods. It never thrives well when transplanted into a garden. It clothes the summit of Hood Hill, of which we have made previous mention, along with Rhinanthus major and *Senecio viscosus, two plants unknown to the flora of Richmond. The Anemhne nemorosa grows with us plentifully, and adds much to the vernal beauty of the woods with its snowy blossoms ; it is fond of dry strong ground, and its long roots entwine among those of the trees and shrubs near which it grows. /)aphne Laureola also occurs plentifully, and sometimes, though rarely, the Mezereum. ^lisma Plantago is not found here, though com- mon at Thirsk ; while, on the other hand, the cowslip and oxlip are comparatively of rare occurrence there. 1 have generally remarked that in the limestone districts the woods and mountain pastures produce the rarest plants ; while on the level plains of red marl which skirt the Hambletons, in the corn fields and borders of cultivated fields, the most uncom- mon are met with.
The geography of plants is of such interest to the botanist, that he ought to let slip no opportunity of promoting our knowledge of this branch of science. There can hardly, in my opinion, a doubt exist that the geological structure of the district exercises great influence over the vegetable produc- tions : or, if it be not so, why do we find the plants so remark- ably dissimilar in the different formations ? My experience has ever tended to confirm me in my belief. For instance, the same plants in great measure occur with us and upon the range of the Hambletons, though thirty miles distant, and though the intervening country is quite of a different charac- ter, and as dissimilar in its geology as in the plants which it produces. It may be said that moisture, dryness, and height above the level of the sea, might produce this difference ; but how is it, then, that we find at the same altitude, on different habitats, that the botany is different? Much, no doubt, remains to be discovered on the subject ; and many facts, in all probability, require correction ; yet, by accurate observation,
28 Claims of Vris tuberbsa
we may attain to the desired Correctness. This cannot be effected, unless the observers in different counties will make known their discoveries ; and this, I trust, will soon be carried into effect through the medium of your Magazine.
Yours, &c. Richmond, Yorkshire, September 20. 1830. T. E. L.
Art. XL On the Claims of Tris tuherdsa as a Native of Ireland, and on some Peculiarities in its Growth and Flowering, By the Rev. W. T. Bree, A.M.
Sir, I DO not know whether botanists in general are aware that the beautiful /ris tuberosa has any pretensions to be considered as native to Great Britain ; yet its claims to a place in our indigenous flora are at least as strong as those of many other plants that have been admitted into it. Being at Cork some years ago, I was informed by Mr. Drummond, the intelligent curator of the botanic garden there, that the above iris grew wild in that neighourhood. On my expressing some surprise at this intelligence, — surprise almost amounting to disbelief, - — Mr. Drummond said, if 1 would only be at the pains of tak- ing about a quarter of an hour's walk, he would convince me pf the accuracy of his statement. Accordingly I accompanied him to an old hedge-bank at no great distance from the town, which he assured me abounded with it. This occurred in the month of October, when, of course, the plant was entirely under ground, and no vestige even of the decayed leaves to be seen above. Mr. Drummond began to dig (as it were at random) with his knife in the bank, and in a very short time presented me with a good handful of the roots, which I took home, and have cultivated in the garden ever since. The bank, I should observe, was composed of very dry soil, owing to the roots of the strong old quicksets which grew upon and shaded it, and formed the fence. In this apparently unfa- vourable situation, however, Mr. Drummond assured me the iris produced flowers ; he also mentioned another spot in the vicinity of Cork where it occurred wild: I think, if my memory serves me, it was near some old ruin in the neigh- bourhood. It will, perhaps, be thought by some that the iris was not really a native in the above situations, but merely the accidental outcast of a garden. This, however, does not appear probable, as the plant is by no means common — I may say it is rare — in gardens ; nor does it seem likely that it should have been planted in this spot by some one who wished to naturalise it.
as a Native of Irelarid.
29
One circumstance relating to the culture of this plant I think not unworthy of being mentioned. The roots from Cork were procured in 1814, and I had for some years pre- viously cultivated the plant, having received it from the Ox- ford garden * ; but from that time to this, though I tried it in various soils and situations, both in the borders and in pots, and adopted the method recommended by Miller and Curtis in the Botanical Magazine^ of putting rubbish under the roots to prevent them from going too deep in the ground, the iris never produced a flower in my garden, with the solitary exception of one year, and then only one single flower. I gave roots of it to a friend, in whose garden, situated about eight miles distant, they remained for seven or eight years, producing, as in my case, no blossoms. All this is, perhaps, nothing extraordinary ; though it certainly might have been expected that the plant would have enjoyed itself at least as well in our Warwickshire gardens as it did on the old dry bank near Cork. What I think remarkable in the case is, that the roots of the iris, after remaining in my friend's gar- den for seven or eight years unproductive, as above stated, alt at once took to flowering abundantly, though no alteration of
treatment was adopted, nor any particular care or attention be- stowed on their culture. The garden alluded to consists of a light dry soil ; the iris grows in the open border, and in this situation has, from the first com- mencement of its flowering, con- tinued to produce flowers pro- fusely every year since. I have seen between thirty and forty blossoms out at a time on one patch. I may observe that the figure of 7^ris tuberosa in the Bo^ tanical Magazine, pi. 531., is but a very indifferent representation. Such of your readers as have the opportunity of consulting that costly and splendid work, I would refer to Flora Grdca^ tab. 41., for an excellent figure i^fig* 9.) of this singular and beautiful plant. Yours, &c.
Alledey Bectary, Nov. 13. 1830. W. T. Bree.
* I watched the plant for several years in the botanic garden during my residence at Oxford, but never could see that it flowered, though it in- creased abundantly by the roots. The old gardener, however, told me that it did occasionally produce flowers.
30 Large Tree in Mexico.
Art. XII. Account of a very large Tree in Mexico. Communi- cated by James Mease, Esq. M.D. "
Sir, In the year 1827, the American minister to Mexico, J. R. Poinsett, sent to the American Philosophical Society of Phil- adelphia a cord, which he said " was brought to him from Oaxaca, as the exact measure of the circumference of a cy- press tree growing in the vicinity of that city. The person who measured the tree is one whose word may be relied on ; and he assured Mr. Poinsett that he stretched the cord as tight as it could be drawn round the body of the tree." The great length of the cord naturally excited suspicions as to the ac- curacy of the measurement ; and Mr. Vaughan, our librarian, by order of the Society, requested Mr. Poinsett to enquire fur- ther into the subject. In another letter to Mr. Vaughan, of Sept. 6. 1827, Mr. Poinsett writes : " As you seem somewhat sceptical about the size of the cypress tree, I addressed a note to an English gentleman lately returned from Oaxaca, and now enclose you his reply. The reply is as follows : —
" Mexico, Sept. 5. 1827.
" My dear Sir, — In compliance with your request, I pro- ceed to give you the result of my visit to, and examination of, the enormous cypress tree in Oaxaca, which has so much ex- cited the surprise and astonishment of travellers.
" The tree is situated in the churchyard of Santa Maria de Tesla, 2J leagues west of Oaxaca, on the road to Guatemala per Tehnantepec ; and there are five or six other enormous trees of the same class surrounding the church, equal in size to the largest trees of the like class now growing in Chapul- tepec or Xmiquilpan, in the state of Mexico ; but the tree above referred to, standing within the walls surrounding the church of Santa Maria, is the tree that, from its enormous bulk, excites the wonder of all who have seen it : it is called by the natives Sahino. During the month of May last I breakfasted under it, and measured the circumference by the cord or lasso of my horse I had then with me. It required five lengths of the lasso and about one half vara more to com- plete its span. Upon my return to Oaxaca, I measured the length of my lasso, which was exactly 9 varas ; so that I esti- mate the circumference to be 46 varas of fair measurement, as I made allowance (with my servant, who assisted me in span- ning the tree) for the protuberances in many parts thereof. The largest tree in Chapultepec is about 1 7 varas in girth ; and the remainder of the trees of the same class in Santa
Large Tree in Mexico, 51
Maria are about the same size, or somewhat smaller. [A Mexi- can vara, Mr. Poinsett says, is SSJ English inches; so that the large tree is 127 ft. in circumference.] The large tree, I think, may be about 120 ft. high ; and, comparatively to its bulk, has but little foliage, less than the smaller trees surrounding it. It moreover appears in the prime of its growth, and has not a single dead branch on it. The enormous branches that spring out of the trunk, some 30 ft. high, make it appear (as all these trees do) as if there were three or four trees united. I have, however, no doubt that it is one entire tree, as one entire bark encircles the grand trunk.
" This tree is an object of considerable veneration with the natives of the village, and the neighbouring Indians ; who in former times, it is said, offered sacrifices to it. It is men- tioned by Cortez, in his history of the conquest of Oaxaca, as at that time the greatest wonder he had seen, and the shade of which served for the whole of his little army of Europeans.
" Enormous as the size of this tree may appear, I am cre- dibly informed that there yet exist, in the road to Guatemala, by the ancient city of Palenque, now in ruins, trees of the same class, equal to this in size, if not somewhat larger. " With great respect, I am, my dear Sir, " Your faithful servant,
" Richard Exter. " His Excellency J, R. Poinsett, Mexico,*'
The following notice of the trees at Chapultepec, mentioned above, is from Mr. Ward's Travels in Mexico, vol. ii. p. 230. : —
" In the gardens of Chapultepec, Mexico, the first object that strikes the eye is the magnificent cypress (Sabino Ahua- huete, or Cupressus disticha), called the cypress of Monte- zuma. It had attained its full growth when that monarch was on the throne (1520), so that it must now be, at least, 400 years old ; yet it still retains all the vigour of youthful vege- tation. The trunk is 4- 1 ft. in circumference ; yet the height is so majestic as to make even this enormous mass appear slen- der. On a close inspection, it appears to be composed of three trees, the trunks of which unite towards the root so closely as to blend into one. This circumstance, however, led us to give the preference to a second cypress, not quite equal to the first in circumference (it is 38 ft. in girth), but as old, as lofty, and distinguished by a slight curve towards the middle of the stem, which gives it a particularly graceful appearance." I am, Sir, yours, &c.
Philadelphia, Oct. 10. 1829. J. M.
B2 On rainitw Trees,
to
Art. XIII. On raining Trees. By John Murray, Esq. F.S.A. F.L.S. F.G.S. &c.
Sir,
The secretions of trees form a curious part of their phy- siology, but the influence of vegetation on the atmosphere seems to have been entirely overlooked, at least as far as it regards its meteorology.
In the case of that curious genus of plants the Sarracen/«, in which, the S. adunca is most conspicuous, the foliaceous pouch is a mere reservoir, or cistern, to catch and retain the falling dew or rain. In the iVepenthes distillatoria, or pitcher plant, the case is different ; and analysis proves it to be an evident secretion from the plant itself, independent altogether of the fact that it is found in the pitcher before the lid has yet opened. I may here state, en passant^ that the results I obtained from a chemical examination of this liquid differ materially from those of Dr. Edward Turner. The Cornus mafscula is very remarkable for the amount of fluid matter which evolves from its leaves, and the willow and poplar, when grouped more especially, exhibit the phenomenon in the form of a gentle shower. Prince Maximilian, in his Travels in the Brazils^ informs us that the natives in these districts are well acquainted with the peculiar property of those hollow leaves that act as recipients of the condensed vapours of the atmosphere ; and, doubtless, these are sources where many tropical animals, as well as the wandering savage, sate their thirst " in a weary land." The Tillandsi<2 exhibits a watery feature of a different complexion : here the entire interior is charged with such a supply of liquid, that, when cut, it affords a copious and refreshing beverage to man. That these extraordinary sources of " living springs of water " are not unknown to inferior creation, is a fact interestingly conr firmed to us in the happy incidents detailed by Mr. Camp- bell, in his Travels in South Africa, where a species of mouse is described to us, as storing up supplies of water contained in the berries of particular plants : and, in Ceylon, animals of the »Slmia tribe are said to be well acquainted with the Nepenthes distillatoria, and to have frequent recourse to its pitcher. The mechanism of the " rose of Jericho" (Anasta- tica hierochuntina) shows the susceptibility of plants to mois- ture in a very remarkable manner ; and I have submitted some experiments made with this extraordinary exotic, the inhabi- tant of an arid sandy soil, to the Horticultural Society of London. That succulents should be found clothing in patches
On 7'aining Trees. 85
the surface of the burning desert is a phenomenon not the least wonderful in the geographical history of vegetation.
In Cockburn's Voyages we find an interesting account of a tree in South America, which yielded a plentiful supply of water by a kind of distillatory process : this tree was met with near the mountainous district of Vera Paz. The party were attracted to it from a distance, the ground appearuig wet around it ; and the peculiarity was the more striking, as no rain had fallen for six months previous. " At last," says he, " to our great astonishment, as well as joy, we saw water dropping, or, as it were, distiUing fast from the end of every leaf of ihis wonderful tree ; at least it was so with us, who had been labouring four days through extreme heat without receiving the least moisture, and were now almost expiring for want of it." The testimony of travellers is too often enshrined among the fabulous ; and their credentials either altogether rejected by some, or at least received *' cum grano salis." Bruce of Kinnaird forms the most remarkable example of this kind, and the caricature of Baron Munchau- sen consigned the whole to sarcasm and ridicule ; and yet the time is come when the more remarkable circumstances and phenomena mentioned by this traveller, verified by Lord Valentia, Mr. Salt, &c., are received as well accredited facts. The curious phenomenon mentioned by Cockburn finds an interesting and beautiful counterpart in two plants ; namely, the Calla aethiopica and Agapanthus umbellatus, in both of which, after a copious watering, the water will be seen to drop from the tips of the leaves ; a phenomenon, as far as I know, not hitherto recorded.
The great rivers of the continent of Europe have their source of supply in the glaciers ; but many of the rivers in the New World owe their origin to the extensive forests of Ame- rica, and their destruction might dry up many a rivulet, and thus again convert the luxuriant valley into an arid and sterile waste ; carried farther, the principle extends to the great features of the globe. What the glaciers effect among the higher regions of the Alps, the Pinus Cembra and Z^arix com- munis accomplish at lower elevations ; and many a mountain rivulet owes its existence to their influence. It rains often in the woodlands when it rains nowhere else ; and it is thus that trees and woods modify the hygrometric character of a coun- try : and I doubt not but, by a judicious disposal of trees of particular kinds, many lands now parched up with drought, as, for example, in some of the Leeward Islands, might be reclaimed from that sterility to which they are unhappily doomed.
Vol. IV. — No. 17. d
34 On raining Trees,
In Glass's History of the Canary Islands we have the de- scription of a peculiar tree in the Island of Hierro, which is the means of supplying the inhabitants, man as well as inferior animals, with water ; an island which, but for this marvellous adjunct, would be uninhabitable and abandoned. The tree is called Til by the people of the island, and has attached to it the epithet garse, or sacred. It is situated on the top of a rock terminating the district called Tigulatre, which leads from the shore. A cloud of vapour, which seems to rise from the sea, is impelled towards it ; and being con- densed by the foliage of the tree, the rain falls into a large tank, from which it is measured out by individuals set apart for that purpose by the authorities of the island.
In confirmation of a circumstance prima facie so incredible, I have here to record a phenomenon, witnessed by myself, equally extraordinary. I had frequently observed, in avenues of trees, that the entire ground engrossed by their shady foliage was completely saturated with moisture; and that during the prevalence of a fog, when the ground without their pale was completely parched, the wet which fell from their branches more resembled a gentle shower than any thing else ; and in investigating the phenomenon which I am disposed to consider entirely electrical^ I think the elm exhi- bits this feature more remarkably than any other tree of the forest. I never, however, was more astonished than I was in the month of September last, on witnessing a very striking ex- ample of this description. I had taken an early walk, on the road leading from Stafford to Lichfield : a dense fog pre- vailed, but the road was dry and dusty, while it was quite otherwise with the line of a few Lombardy poplars ; for from them it rained so plentifully, and so fast, that any one of them might have been used as an admirable shower bath, and the constant stream of water supplied by the aggregate would (had it been directed into a proper channel) have been found quite sufficient to turn an ordinary mill.
Yours, &c. J. Murray.
February 4. 1829.
P. S. — I have met with the ^ana arb5rea in the Canton of the Vallais, and I have described it in my Beauties of Switzer- land [noticed Vol. II. p. 360.], as employed in the way you havfe mentioned in Vol. II. p. 79.
Springs of 1820 and 1829 compared, %S,
Art. XIV. Some Remarks on the Spring of 18S0, as compared with that of 1829, with a Calendar showing the Difference of the Two Seasons. By the Rev. W. T. Bree, M.A.
The extraordinarily fine and warm weather which occurred last spring was accompanied, as might be expected, with some corresponding unusually early appearances in the calendar of nature : and as the previous spring (viz. that of 1829) was as remarkable for being a cold and late one, it strikes me that it may not be uninteresting, in a few instances, to contrast the two, by presenting in parallel columns the dates of certain natural occurrences in each, with a view to show the difference of the two seasons, and the influence it had on various sub- jects of the animal and vegetable world. The remarkably fine weather alluded to in 1830 occurred at the end of March ; I have not therefore thought it necessary, for the purpose I have in view, to commence the contrasting calendar earlier than towards the middle of that month, nor to extend it beyond the end of May. I have to regret that my calendar for 1829 is rather scanty; where no corresponding date, therefore, is found in the column for that year, the particular occurrence was not noted. The warm weather changed on the last day of March, with cold rain in the afternoon. April ] St was cold, with storms of rain and snow towards the middle of the day. During April 2d and 3d there was an exceed- ingly heavy fall of snow, which was succe^d^d by frosts so severe as entirely to destroy, in many situations, the buds of the walnut, though they had scarcely begun to open, and were still almost within their close winter ccweringuh It is obvious that this sudden alteration \)f the weathi^r must, have given a great check to vegetation, an^ *to{.the appea^ranoe of. insects and summer birds: the redstart,' heaid March) 31 sj^> did not appear ag^injior resume its |>*'ittea-ing note till April- ,7th ; and the blackdap,' heard (March f^OtJi, not till}Api?il Bth ; Voutia rapae (small garden white butt^flyt) ^ajid PalyoinniatudiA-i'giolus (azure Mud butterfly), .seen 6i\ the wing March 28th and 29th, were not observed again, the former till ApriL 9th ^ and the latter not till the 18th of the month. The effects of the severe frosty nights on trees seemed to differ according to circum- stances, and to be most destructive in the lower situations : for example, a sycamore tree below the bottom of my garden, which was in leaf, was entirely cut off, so that it never reco- vered its beauty and verdure through the summer ; while another of the same species on the premises, not more than a hundred yards distant, a much loftier tree, and in a higher and more exposed situation, was scarcely injured at all.
D 2
36
Remarks on the Spring of iSSO,
If there ever was a season in which, perhaps, more than in any other we might have expected the early arrival of the swallow tribe, it was the spring of 1830: but according to my own observations, exhibited in the following calendar, none made their appearance much before the usual period. The house swallow, indeed, was rather early (April .9th) ; but the swift by no means so (May 5th) ; and the marten, at least in this immediate neighbourhood, remarkably late (May 10th). * I confess I was somewhat disappointed at not seeing /iTirundines earlier, as I had expected ; for it occurred to me that, had any individuals remained with us in a torpid state during the winter, the extraordinarily fine weather at the end of March would undoubtedly have called them into life and ac- tivity. I am informed, however, on authority which I have no reason to question, that a large flight of ZZirundines (of which species I could not ascertain, probably sand-martens) was ob- served by many persons in the neighbourhood of Tamworth, sporting over the river on the 29th of March ; several were also seen by different persons near Coventry as early as April 4th ; swifts f, too, at the latter place on April 30th. In the follow- ing calendar I have recorded only what fell under my own personal observation ; without, however, in the least doubting the accuracy of the statements made by others.
To those articles which are the earliest instances of their kind I ever happened to have noticed a double asterisk is affixed (thus **) : —
1830. March 11 17 , „ 19
^'pis retusa a{)peared ''^ ^^p<^ yl^1^mo^ iiiaain^tnoo b^j^h'.J Gonepteryx rhamni appeared " - " j ^^
Vanessa To appeared .onjij toa^ ^m j£ Lo')i|-
Apricot tree flowered Anemone nemorosa flowered Blackbird sung ^^ pis terrestris appeared ^»y''^" Willow wren (Sjlyia'Tt6MmT^
Pump-borei^ (least woodpecker) heard'4^^^ "*^-^'' ^^'^'V" *<'i ' **PoIydmmaius Argiolm Appeared I| ^'^^ ''^^ ^^'<^ ^^ b^maen u, P6nti<^;rap'£e appearec^ '". ^^ ' '^^ y^ .^^tJ^iaJ^i >
Cherry trefe J(l6wei^ed ' " "' r*"^® '^lifeojnarmi.oo t^.iB it .rjif w : '".oil j«ia >j «M V'"jAtl <iV ^\%iufyiuu ,h h V
May 10
1829. April 3
17 13
t i
auifl ')di in v
18
UUlrtnL
flHl]U,
ii»AUJiit..[j;
i-^
* I have no doutt martens were to be seen long befbrfe th'^ dbove date ; but I did not seg one previously m^yself, though 1 was on the look out for
them. „. _,^'^ j ,,! i,.,/"'; J/ -■.!■' ''•■.>j""' '<■ " f'''."' '"
f My] ;njtoiTO^nt, ,^n 1^^^ observer, remarks th^if, swifts ^erally
make their iirst appearance towards the evening.' ' '^ ' " ^ ' ^ ' ' J If credit may be given to newspaper intelligence, a^ swarm of bees
was hived on the 25th of March at Long Itchingtoh, iii this coilnty. See
Coventry Mercury for March 28. 1830. § The thermometer this day stood at 64° exposed on a north wall.
as compared "joith that of 1829.
37
**Bombylius major appeared
Blackcap sung
Vanessa urticae appeared
**J^pis muscorum appeared
Pear tree flowered
Fiola canina flowered
**Redstart sung
Fieldfares and redwings last seen
Plum tree flowered (full flower)
Lesser petty chaps (Sylvia hippolais) sung "1
Pontia napi appeared J
Swallows -{- (H. rustica) appeared"!
ikfelitta fulva appeared >■
Blackthorn flowered (full flower) J
Nightingale sung
Caltha palustris flowered
Stellaria i/olostea flowered
Cardamine pratensis flowered
Wild cowslip flowered
J^espa communis appeared
Pontia cardamines appeared
Apple tree flowered
Hipparchi« iEgeria appeared
Cuckoo sung:}:
Polyommatus Argiolu* appeared in a faded
state § SciWa, nutans flowered Veronica ChamaeMrys flowered **Libellula virgo (least dragon-fly) appeared \ (Spartium scoparium flowered J
Hawthorn flowered 1
Pontia brassicae appeared |-
Georaetra crataegata appeared J
}
1830. March 29
30
31
April 1* 4
8
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 23
25
26
27
28 May 3
1829. April 17 11 May 11
April 21 8 7
6 15
May 10 April 17
19 30 21
May 4
April 18
May 11 10
April 26
21 May 12
9
SO
* I failed to notice the last appearance of these birds in the spring of 1829 ; but it may be stated, that they usually stay with us till towards the end of April, and occasionally some are seen the beginning of May, and even later.
+ Four appeared at the same time.
4: I did not myself hear the cuckoo till this day, but an intelligent countryman assured me that he was positive he heard it on the 29th of March, and again, most distinctly, on the 12th of April. The cuckoo, it should seem, when it first commences its song in the spring, usually sings very early in the morning ; and accordingly is likely to be first heard by labouring people who are stirring betimes about their occupations. I should have doubted the accuracy of the information of the cuckoo having been heard so early as the 29th of March, were it not that my informant is in the habit of attending to the notes and appearances of our summer birds ; and I generally find that the cuckoo has been first heard by him, when he has been up early shepherding, a considerable time before I have heard it myself.
§ The faded condition in which I observed this little butterfly on the 25th of April, with its wings battered and torn, shows that even at this early period the insect must have been out on the wing a considerable time.
D 3
38
Sjprings o/'1830 and 1829 compared.
**Libellula depr^ssa appeared ** quadriinaculata appeared ** ae^nea appeared **Melitae^« Euphrosync appeared **Pan6rpa communis appeared Swifts appeared iScarabae^us auratus appeared ** Cockchafer appeared Martens appeared Chrjsis ignita appeared Geometra implicaria Libellula pueJla appeared? \ Lai'ge May-fly appeared * J . iScarabae'us horticola appeared
1830.
May 4
i>
7
8
10
14
17
21
29
1829.
May 29
June 2
2
May 3
29 April 23
May 29 29
It will immediately appear, on looking at the above calendar, that in every instance of comparison the occurrences were con- siderably earlier in 1830 than in 1829, with the exception of three (viz. flowering of iScilla nutans, and the appearance of the swifts and martens) which were later, and one (viz. the appearance of /S'carabae'us hordeola) which tooki place oh the same day in both seasons. r- , , ,. ,
I avail myself of this opportunity to record the last appear- ance of our British i?irundines in the autumn of the present year: — Swallow, Oct. 12.; Marten, Oct. 5.; Swifts, Aug. 26.
The swallows and martens had for the most part disappeared in this neighbourhood by the end of September : I observed many of both species at Kenilworth on October 5th ; several swallows at Allesley on the 7th and 10th ; and, lastly, one on October 12thv I could not observe a swift in this parish after August 3d. Many were still left at Warwick op August 11th ; arid some continued thene.^till the.iieth.HrOw. the 26th of the same montfc lobser'ted two flyings Jligh : in the vair between Corley* ahd'Filldngley=fadjoining>parishe6 t^otAhi^)^ and, as I concl5u4ei on th^ir traiel for ©dJigari .•Glim§JS,,^«theyv^w#re soon beyond the range of my visioto^iioMi hm vjTjt;q -.ffii^.i. .i
The. ftjite cold, wet, and i smnleSsf i fiummer, ^a^.^ -<?Qur,^Q, exceedin^y unfhvourable to the appearance of di^iBnal lepi- dopteVous^ ii^ects. On the 23d of- July I could, see but a single e5^ainpile of Argynnis^ Paphi^ (silver-wsfshed fritillary) in tbe neighbourhood of the woods in this parish, where I have been in the habit of observing the insect in some abund- ance. A solitary specimen of Van6ssa \o appeared on Sep- tember 20th. During the whole autumn I could observe no specimen of Cynthia cardui, nor of Vanessa C. album; and but one only of Vanessa Atalant« on the 13th of October, evidently just emerged from the chrysalis on that day. Scarcely a specimen, indeed, was to be seen even of the very common Vanessa urtlcae.
39
PART 11.
REVIEWS.
Art. I. Insect Architecture : forming Vol. III. of the Library of Entertaining Knowledge, 12mo. London, 1829.
The high price of books is a subject on which, whatever might have been the case formerly, there is no reasonable ground for complaint in the present day. V^e do not mean that there is not as great a number of costly and splendid works published now as ever, but that there is also a propor- tionate number of cheap ones. This is readily to be accounted for by the more general diffusion of education; an increasing taste for reading and thirst for acquiring knowledge having called forth the exertions of a corresponding class of editors and authors to meet the public demand. Accordingly there have of late been so many new editions of sterling books, as well as entirely new works published at a low or very mode- rate price, that any one may now, for a comparatively small sum of mor^ey, procure a tolerable library, sufficient for most practical purposes ; provided only he be willing to forego the enjoyment of such luxuries as portly quartos, coloured plates, hot-pressed paper, and meadows of margin: We have lately purchased a ti^at little pocket edition of White's Natural His- tory ' of Sdborhe, enriched too with additional notes by Sir William Jardine, for 3s* 6d.; and the book uoWm before us, Insect Archttekure, consisting of more than 400 closely printed duodecimo pages, and adorned with 160 illustrative wood- cuts, is offered to the public at the very low cost of 45, . '
In 'a former Number of our Magazine (Vol. III. p. 80.), when speaking of Xhfd^ Library of Ent&taining Knowledge (of which Insect Architecture forms one volume), we briefly alluded to this " singularly interesting and entertaining " work, and then promised, when the second part appeared, to review the whole more at length. This pledge we would now redeem. It is not, however, our intention to enter upon a complete and regular analysis of the work ; a plan which would involve us Ih the necessity either of doing little more than transcribing the table of contents, or of transferring to our -own pages too considerable a portion of the volume before us. We shall
D 4
40 Insect Architecture,
content ourselves, therefore, after having made a few general remarks bearing upon the popular mode of studying natural history, with giving, by way of specimen, such extracts as, we trust, may induce our readers to have recourse to the book itself, if indeed there be any of our readers, our insect-loving readers, who are not already acquainted with it.
It is with great satisfaction that we learn, on the authority of Mr. Vigors *, the enormous extent to which this work has been circulated, " Another striking feature in modern zoo- logy," says Mr. Vigors, " is one to which I have already had occasion to allude : the publication of popular treatises on the subject. The extent to which some of the more valuable of these productions have been lately circulated, — I shall instance more particularly the Menageries and the volumes on Insect Architecture, published under the superintendence of the 8ociety for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, — not only proves the popularity of the science, but points out one of the powerful causes that contribute to the cultivation of it. When I mention to you that copies of these publications have been disseminated by tens of thousands, you may calculate not merely how many readers participate in the delights of the study, but how many of them may be induced, from the }ierusal, to become observers of nature, if not active coopera- tors in the science."
The time, we trust, is now gone by, or nearly so, when it was necessary to enter upon a regular defence of any branch of natural history, " Cui bono ?" however, is a question still sometimes put to us; and the answer often given in reply, though Jp^fectly-true knd just, as far as it goes, — and the one, m<5rse<^€^, <tf>faiiboth€«^^, ^e>rhaps, - most likely 'to*' have .weight witbJ!fti^fl»5?^te rm^h the (^aqiaii-^i, -wj^i^'yit, Uq IhinH' ii^ither the'l^??/^lft6*/4:hJ|d*^/l ans^^^iri.'bf^ wMbh^'thiSf (questiotir admits. Wh W'^a^dtitfe^ovf i€feiih^>fr P^N^iity^ ^f thd ^^W^f^ and demahded, " Wh*ltMh@f»se (if hdturkl'histtiry^'^HHd s^u^enitis'sQ'^ temj:^*yt0:i'^f^l^d'jMs ^lir^tiit'lbj^i^fefe^ri'fl^vJtO' its ^Mility as corttl^t«tt^ltfefedihiwerG<&,'*tlle -artsi' * tnedicifie^ >and (domestic eccbiath5fi fhJifetK^'^tliisJi^W ^utiliti/ of natural history is
untlouirt^f Jtfasf^f b«<V We^httife,' the pursuit has other and bett^r^MrM Ott^i0tir'4ttentioh. ^ Nor indeed, in point of feet, does bare utility supply the -motive by which the generality are actuated in tarking up the study. If it were asked, " V^hat is the use of hunting, shooting, or fishing ? " no sportsman, we apprehend, would think of answering, that it is in the one
* See liis A<l:lres8 at the Anniversary Meeting of the Zoological Club, Vol. 111. p. 22a.
Insect Architecture. 41
case the destruction of a noxious animal ; or in the others, the supply of the table with game or fish. The noxious ani- mal, as every one knows, might be destroyed far more readily and effectually, and the game and fish procured at much less expense of time and labour, by other means. Any one pos- sessed of right sentiments on the subject, would rather be inclined to refer us to the exhilarating pleasures of the chase (man being by nature a sporting* animal), the manly and wholesome exercise, the display of skill and ingenuity requi- site to insure success, the beautiful and varied scenes of nature to which the followers of field sports are necessarily introduced, &c. In like manner may natural history, over and above the consideration of its direct and palpable utility, be recommended purely on the ground of its being a continual source of rational amusement, a delightful exercise of the mind, an innocent — we had almost said a p/ow5—- recreation : for nothing can be more true than the maxim so often quoted, that " the contemplation of Nature raises the mind up to Nature's God." All the works of the Creator are worthy of being " sought out " by his rational creatures ; we make no doubt they were designed to be so, and designed moreover to afford us both useful and agreeable instruction. Solomon sends us to the ant to learn wisdom f ; an inspired })rophet refers to " the stork and the swallow," as knowing their " appointed times," and " the time of their coming," J Our Saviour himself directs our attention to the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field, in order to inculcate an impor- tant moral lesson § ; and St. Paul refutes the philosophical gainsayers,) and-illustrates the possibility of a resurrection from thei iclea(/^, byuj[in)iai,^uj(«)enfe< )dra,w-U' :&')Qnji the ordinary process of vdgisibat^m/llr e; A^d. yagain- .(^ItopgH }f^^ hfe^e aio //scriptural authbnifcy fot^ iSO) applying* jto/ subj^tj^f'who vthafc fw«,t€hes the catb»J>illar. pafe«ing;iliat©-thd id6sttWilgQ'«on(Jit:iiQr>/of '§ir -chrysalis, andHthence-igBnisgfifortH- Sf^ buiUiailti rbjjlt!^rflyi>^f0®f' faitl to be str-iifedis ^ VvitJi X the ' jobviQiftst ftn(| beautifu} aaaJalbgyl b^t^peto the diffflpontiiiates u- of, An^ct .]i^ t'and, tite, pj'^aetiit ,»ji^ .fujtUre pon- difeiowfofriblil-iQjwii.existeiicsvJ ;1'p a. t&^ightfuil ^i^d, indeed, alliuatijurdiftboMaiid^iiwitlt obje(;tSi;whiG»hr mnf ba. fcijrpy^jto ad- va^ltage'4 ;*.an4 (He, whjt)- ^wiil /but beiflfettfeQipsiiflS Iftiti^^^t a littiJ3iQtt^M'J^it>liei!^$eS around him, m^yv]qi|;i^. ^y^^^^ tj-nA
tiid // • *< ^rt<l 'i^nguefi^ in tt-ees, books in «h^ •K>?^:;<)edabs|)^j lUJ ! > i
:3 // ;i I n J i I y t^ejtpoiM in stonesj 'and good w evet*y tfupg/n \ , i 7) ^^x.
J'to ;jjii w 6\ Ji i\. —7- — f ii •,• '. — I — ""{'' S'm'jv/ ^hnhn ■ '
* QiioiVTiKQQ. ArivStotle. \ Prov. vi. 6.
% Jer. viii. 7. § Matt. vi. 26. 28. |1 1 Cor. xv. 36. &c.
4- " fn'a w;6>'«/ view I shall noft, 1 believe, be contradicted when I say, that, if one train of thinking be more desirable than another, it is that which
4<8 huect Avchitecture*
With regard to the study of insects in particular, it may, perhaps, at first sight appear somewhat extraordinary, that while botany has long had its troops of ardent admirers, entomology has, till comparatively of late years, lain under peculiar reproach and neglect. This, no doubt, is in part owing to the too prevailing error of uniformly associating with the very name of " insect " the idea of something noxious, destructive, and disgusting. Not only the vulgar, but many even of the better-informed, are in the habit of regarding these wonderful little creatures in the light of blights, pests, scourges of the human race, and in no other. They overlook entirely the important purposes which the inferior animals are ordained to accomplish in the economy of nature ; and for- get that
" Each crawling insect holds a rank
Important in the plan of Him who framed This scale of beings ; holds a rank which lost Would break the chain, and leave behind a gap Which Nature's self would rue." Stillingfleet.
" We ought not," says Aristotle, " childishly to disdain the
regards the phenomena of nature with a constant reference to a supreme intelligent Author. To have made this the ruling, the habitual sentiment of our minds, is to have laid the foundation of every thing which is reli- gious. The world thenceforth becomes a temple, and life itself one con- tinued act of adoration. The change is no less than this : that, whereas formerly God was seldom in our thoughts, we can now scarcely look upon any thing without perceiving its relation to him. Every organised natural body, in the provisions it contains for ;ts sustentation and propagation, testifies a care, ori the part of the Creator, expressly directed to these piirjiyi^fegr'J W^ afi^'on dr'^Wes'but^nimhdted'by ih(^h' b6'difes j ^xdn^iriefd in tljeirJMucta, ^ottclei^|ly;Ciirio«isf^ti(Miiipat0d'witte<i«ie> another, fto«)egfe^vldW- derfully diversified. So that the mind, as well as the eye, may either ex|)atiate in variety and multitude, or fix itself down to the investigation of pdHr^a¥' diVfstofj^ (^f the science. '^'Afid in either casfe it witl nse up from its occupation [:)ossessed by th^ subject in a very different manner, and with a'very different degree of mfl'uence, from what kmiere as'sent to any Vei*bq,l proposifion which can be formed concerning the existence of the Ddty, at ieist that merely complying assent with whfchthoSe about us are g^tisn^'d, aind' With which we are too apt to satisfy oui'selves, will or ' can pi^ddu^e upon the thoughts. More especially may this difference be, per- ceived in the degree of admiration and of awe'vvith which the Divinity Js regardfddVWhen represehted tb the understanding by its own remarks, its o\V'n reflections, and its own reasonings, compared with what is excited by ahy language that can be used fc|y others. The works of nature want only to be contetnplated."^c. See Pale^'k l^atural Theology, p. 585., a work which We cannot too strongly i-e'cominend to the perusal of our readers generall^i not merely afe affording a' vfery high degree of amusement and instructibh, but also mote particulariy as cfirecting them to the proper ap- plication of their' studies in the field of nature. It will appear that, in what we have offered in the present article, we have very much underrated the advantages, the utility of natural history.
Insect Architecture. 4-3
study of the less noble animals ; for there is in all natural objects something to excite our admiration."* " I think," says Paley, speaking of insects, " it is in this class of animals above all others, especially when we take in the multitude of species which the microscope discovers, that we are struck with what Cicero has called ' the insatiable variety of nature.' "f " The meanest creature is a collection of wonders."{ And again ; " The hinges in the wings of an earwigs and the joints of its antenna?, are as highly wrought as if the Creator had nothing else to finish." § 8urely the instincts, habits, and manners of insects, their " architectural " contrivances and singular transformations, the infinite variety of their forms, the exact mechanism and structure of their parts, and, in many cases, their extraordinary brilliancy and beauty, are not less deserv- ing some portion of our attention than the charms and won- ders of Flora. H
But, besides the false views above alluded to, as having operated in no slight degree to the discouragement of ento- mology as a general pursuit, the neglect we speak of might also formerly, in part at least, be attributed to the want of suitable books, to set people a going, as it were, on the sub- ject. And it is in this respect, more especially, that the little volume before us is peculiarly valuable, being calculated above most that we have met with to render the study of insects both accessible and attractive. With the assistance here afforded, the student may at once set to work for himself. He is sent, for example, to a bee's nest, an ant-hill, a spider's web, or the like, to beh6ldwitjh his.owneyQS, and admire the i]pianfl^f^,;9^'d'pp^trivaiices qf.tb^^^ uiukr^.ft .kMtjgxiCOUi'se.. ofij^u^jfiQii§iirefliiii)^itiH**feaw<j^ jB&a^m^
, J\ " Quagr;fortas,^e a nonnullis potest^ Qijas papillosum ^g^^s§^ ad brnatum TJniyersi, et ut homimbus spectaculq sijit : acL rUr^' j|li^str^4^ yelut totj .bracteie inservientes. Quis en^n^^xiniiiim earuin pi4^|^'itii;c^pifl, et^ Varictateni conteuiplans mira voluptatq nori affjcMi^ur V ,Q,ui^,to^| cplpflim el; sch'einatum 'elegantias naturae ipsius ingenjo excbgitatas et api^fipCpen;- cillo dcpictas curiosis oculis intuens, divinae artis vestigia eis inipressa non agnoscat et miretur ?"-^i?(r«"i Histona Insectqrum, p. 109. " It may, pej^haps^ be asl^ed by some,- Wl^^V^^ -^^ ^^^^ of butterflies ? ,1 answ(?r, tq adprn the world, and afford inankiiKi an agreeable sight, serving like so many spangles to decQrate the fields, i^oi* who can contemplate their exquisite beauty and variety withput being touched with ^vonderful delight ? Who can look with an attentive, eye qn the elegance of so inany colours anfl forms, devised by the fancy and painted by the skilful pencil of Nature herself, and not acknowledge and admire the traces of divine art .impressed upon
44 Insect Archikclure,
nor encumber himself with much of the jargon and technical- ities of science, before he can be brought, with such a book in his hands, to take an interest and a pleasure in the observ- ance of insects. When we speak of " the jargon of science,^' we beg not to be misunderstood, nor to have it supposed for a moment that we underrate the value and importance of purely scientific works ; quite the contrary ; we readily admit their utility, and the pleasure they afford to such as have already acquired a taste for natural history. Nevertheless we consider them as means, not as ends. P'or ourselves, we could with much satisfaction pore over the scientific pages of a system of entomology or botany, by the hour together. But we much doubt whether the perusal of such systems in the^r5^ instance, be the best way to instil into the mind of a beginner a love for the study of nature. We may be erro- neous in our opinion ; but it does appear to us, that this would be beginning at the wrong end, and adopting a method which, so far from being the most likely to insure success, would, in the majority of cases, have the directly opposite effect of disgusting the student, and deterring him from the pursuit altogether. We feel confident, at least, that very many persons, when put in the right track, are capable of deriving much rational amusement from the study of nature, who yet could never be trained by book-learning to become thorough scientific naturalists. Let but a taste for the subject be once imbibed, and the student will afterwards naturally be led to aim at higher attainments, and seek for further information ; by degrees he will wish to become acquainted in some measure with the nomenclature, arrangement, and classification of the objects he studies, and with the systems to which they have been reduced. It should be remembered, too, that the acqui- sition of a perfect knowledge of scientific entomology or botany would require more time and attention than most men can afford to devote to such pursuits. Eminence in either de- partment demands almost " a whole man." Accordingly the great luminaries in natural history, as in other sciences, are necessarily few in number : " apparent rari — in gurgito vas- to." * We do not regret this circumstance ; our object in re- commending these pursuits not being so much the formation of one or two first-rate naturalists, as of a very large number of observers of nature. In short, we have ourselves found such an inexhaustible fund of rational pleasure in natural history, — we feel so indebted to the pursuit for the recreation it has afforded us, that we cannot but wish to see it become popular
* " Few, scatter' d, floating on the vast abyss." Trapp's Trans.
Insect Architecture. 45
with the generality, hi order that the greatest possiblie number of our fellow-creatures may partake of the same benefits with ourselves, deriving amusement and instruction from the rich stores which their Creator has every where bountifully strewed around them.
But it is time to turn from these general remarks to the book which has called them forth, and whose title stands at the head of our present article. Insect Architecture, as its name implies, treats of that portion of the economy of insects which is more particularly displayed in the construction of their nests and habitations. We believe we are correct in stating that the work is from the pen of Mr. Rennie. To him, at all events, we are indebted for many interesting facts and valuable remarks, the result of his own personal expe- rience and observation. The author, whoever he may be, has executed his plan with much taste and ability, and, what is more, with a right feeling throughout ; nor will it detract from the merits of the work to state, that no inconsiderable portion of its contents consists of little more than a compil- ation — indeed it could not well be otherwise — from the writings of previous authors of established reputation: for in a popular treatise, like the present, the author, we think, would be much to blame had he failed to avail himself of the .labours of his predecessors as often as it might suit his purpose. The introductory chapter is an able and interest- ing essay in defence and recommendation of the study of insects. We gladly extract the following passage, the senti- ments of which are so much in unison with our own : —
" The exercise t)f that habit •dfobsetvation wMch edH'aP6ilfe thak^ ^ hatu- ralisf, ^anout-ofidoor'natmralist,' as'Daines Barringtoii: called himself,, is well calculated to strengthen even the. most pj^aptiqal and^ ipjerdy jijseful powers of the mind. One of the most valuable ipentai, acquirements is the power of discriminating among things which differ in many minute points, bilt whrose general similarity of appearance li-sually deiieives the e6himon obtetervei" into a belief of their identity. . Entomology^ in^ this 'p6in$!<)€ view, i^ a study pecyliarly adapted for yputt^. According to our e^pqi^ieoGe, it is exceedingly difficult for persons arrive(J at manhood to acquire this power of discrinVmation ; but, in early life^ a 'little care' on the part of the parent or' teacher will riender it comparatively easy; 'Iri this study the knowledge of things should.go along, with that of words. ' If names perish,'' says Lin- na^li^, ' the knowledge of things perishes also ;' an4 without names how can any one communicate to another the knowledge he has acquired relative to aiiy particular fact, either of physiology, habit, utility, or locality ? On the other hand, mere catalogue learning is as much to be rejected as the loose generalisations of the despisers of classification and nomenclature. To name a plant, or an insect, or a bird, or a quadruped rightly, is one step towards an accurate knowlecl^je of it ; but it is not the knowledge itself. It is the means, arid fiot the end, in natural history, as in every other science." (p. 12.)
46 Imect Architecture.
Our author's remarks, too, on collections of insects are, we think, sound and judicious. He does not allow " the collect- ing of specimens only, or, as the French expressly call them, chips {ecliantillom\ to be called a study. The mere collector," he says, " is not, and cannot be, justly considered as a natur- alist." On the other hand, he does not condemn or despise the practice as a useless or frivolous employment, only he is anxious to place it on its true and proper footing. But our author shall speak for himself: —
" A collection of insects is to the true naturalist what a collection of medals is to the accurate student of history. The mere collector who looks only to the shining wings of the one or the green rust of the other, derives little knowledge from his pursuit. But the cabinet of the entomo- logist becomes rich in the most interesting subjects of contemplation, when he regards it in the genuine spirit of scientific enquiry. What, for instance, can be so delightful as to examine the wonderful variety of structure in this portion of the creation, and, above all, to trace the beautiful grada- tions by which one species runs into another. Their differences are so minute, that an unpractised eye would proclaim their identity ; and yet when the species are separated, and not very distantly, they become visible even to the common observer. It is in examinati6ns such as these that -the naturalist finds a delight of the highest order. While it is thus one of the legitimate objects of his study to attend to minute differences of structure, form, and colouring, he is not less interested in the investigation of habits and economy ; and in this respect the insect world is inexhaust- ibly rich. We find herein examples of instinct to parallel those of all the larger animals, whether they are solitary or social ; and innumerable others besides, altogether unlike those 'manifested in the superior departments of animated nature." (p. l^.j
^They wh^have ^aid but' little (k tia ^attention to the sub- ject, are not 6hly ignoratit.of the immense number of species to be found in the insect; wprld, b^t^r^ piso quite unconscious of the differences sand djistinetioes observable among such as they have been 'a'cCU^o'riied"t<) tfoptibihe ubd^r otie common denominatioii.'' Ji'fh^jr Wiir,|ie eq^^ perhaps, to
learn ,that,tW operatJpns'.Qf tK^pe iittje^ creatvires, in many cases .bear GOnsiderajbie resdmlpla^odtor ati9jlogy> to those of our own mechanicsi' 'lHus. f0i''^HlaM]f)te;-fo^kldi6fe'tii{fe^^ hive bee, which is ffidr e o^^ l^s s : J^ndwii f o e ye ry tioJy , , there are others, also, of the .s^mes family, "v^Kich, from- the above circumstance, have bfeen denominated mason bees, mining bees, carjTCTiters, upholsterers,' Carders, &c. 'The cai^ienter bee, which is, 'by no means an uu^commdn' insect,' constructs its nest, in decaying wood, which it industriously scoops out for the purpose, and lines its cells with circular pieces of leaves, cutting them from the living" pllaiit with great'^6Xfiedition and the exactest nicety. . _ ' " ' '/ '' ..,*,. ?; .Jm. ' ' \. ■ '
" Let us compare," says our authbi*, " thieprdgress of this litfle joiner with a human artisan — one who has been long practised in his trade,
Insect Architecture, 47
and has the most perfect and complicated tools for his assistance. The bee has learned nothing by practice; she makes her nest but once in her life, but it is then as complete and finished -as if she had made a thousand. She has no pattern before her; but the Architect of all things has impressed a plan upon her mind, which she can realise without scale or compasses. Her two sharp teeth are the only tools with which she is provided for her laborious work ; and yet she bores a tunnel, twelve times the length of her own body, with greater ease than the workman who bores into the earth for water, with his apparatus of augers adapted to every soil. Her tunnel is clean and regular ; she leaves no chips at the bottom, for she is provident of her materials. Further, she has an exqui- site piece of joinery to perform, when her ruder labour is accomplished. The patient bee works her rings from the circumference to the centre, and she produces a shelf, united with such care with her natural glue, that a number of fragments are as solid as one piece." (p. 50.)
Another species has been called the poppy-bee, from its selecting the scarlet petals of the poppy as tapestry for its cells. From this material the bee
" Successively cuts off small pieces of an oval shape, seizes them between her legs, and conveys them to the nest. She begins her work at the bot- tom, which she overlays with three or four leaves in thickness, and the sides have never less than two. When she finds that the piece she has brought is too large to fit the place intended, she cuts off what is superfluous, and carries away the shreds. By cutting the fresh petals of a poppy with a pair of scissors, we may perceive the difficulty of keeping the piece free from wrinkles and shrivelling ; but the bee knows how to spread the pieces which she uses as smooth as glass.
" When she has in this manner hung the little chamber all round with this splendid scarlet tapestry, of which she is not sparing, but extends it even beyond the entrance, she then fills it with the pollen of flowers mixed with honey, to the height of about half an inch. In this magazine of pro- visions for her future progeny she lays an egg, and over it folds down the tapestry of poppy petals from above. The upper part is then filled in with earth ; " but Latreille says, he has observed more than one cell constructed in a single excavation. This may account for Reaumur's describing them as sOmetiroes 7 in. deep; a circumstance which Latreille, howeVer, 'thinks very surprising., It; !\yiLl, perhaps, be imp<2>psible eve? to ascertain beyond a doubt;, whjether the tapestr^-bee is led to s^ect the; brilliant petals of the poppy fifoni their coloiir, 'or from any other quality they may possess, of softnfe^s bi- of 'Wftiinth; for instance. R^autntlr thinks that the largeness, united' with the flexibility of the poppy leaves, determines her choice. Yet it is not iipprobable that her eye may be gratified by the appearance of her nest; that she may possess a feeling of the beautiful in colour, and may look with complacency upon the delicate hangings of the apartment which she destines for her offspring. Why should not an insect be supposed to have a glimmering of the value of ornament? How can we pronounce, from our. limited notion of the mode in which the inferior animals think and act, that their gratifications are wholly bounded by the positive utility of the objects which surround them ? Why does a dog howl at the sound of a bugle, but because it offeUds his organs of hearing ? And why, therefore, may not a bee feel gladness in the brilliant hues of her scarlet drapery, because they are grateful to her organs of sight ? All these little creatures work, probably, with more neatness and finish than is absolutely essential for comfort ; and this circumstance alone would imply that they have some- thing of taste to exhibit, which produces to them a pleasurable emotion.
" The tapestry-bee is, however, content with ornamenting the interior only
48 Insect Architecture,
of the nest which she forms for her progeny. She does not raisp.lacc !ier embellishments with the error of some human artists. Slie desires security as well as elegance ; and therefore she leaves no external traces of her operations. Hers is not a mansion rich with columns and friezes without, .but cold and unfurnished within, like the desolate palaces of Venice, fehe .covers her tapestry quite round with the common eai'th, and leaves her eggs enclosed in their poppy-case with a certainty that the outward show of her labours will attract no plunderer." (p. 55.)
'. The industry of the bee has become proverbial : the marau- der wasp also, though her labours are unattended v/ith the same profitable results to mankind, works equally hard in her vocation, and displays no less ingenuity in the formation of her habitation and the manufacture of her cells. On the material with which the wasp family construct their nest, v/e have the following interesting remarks : —
" The wasp is a paper-maker, and a most perfect and intelligent one. While mankind were arriving, by slow degrees, at the art of fabricating this valuable substance, the wasp was making it before their eyes, by very much the same process as that by which human hands now manufacture it with the best aid of chemistry and machinery. While some nations carved their records on wood, and stone, and brass, and leaden tablets, — others, more advanced, wrote with a style on wax, — others employed the inner bark of trees, and others the skins of animals rudely prepared, — the wasp was manu- facturing a firm and durable paper. Even when the papyrus was rendered more fit, by a process of art, for the transmission of ideas in writing, the wasp was a better aitisan than the Egyptians ; for the early attempts at paper-making were so rude, that the substance produced was almost useless, from being extremely friable. The paper of the papyrus was formed of the leaves of the plant, dried, pressed, and polished ; the wasp alone knew how to reduce vegetable fibres to a pulp, and then unit6 them by a size or glue, spreading the iuhstance out into a smooth and delit^ate leaf. This is exactly the process of paper-making. It would seem that the wasp Ifnows, as the modern paper-makers now know, that the. fibres of rags, whether linen or cotton, are not the only materials that can be used in the form- ation of paper: she employs other vegetable matters, converting theni into a proper consistency by her assiduous exertions. In some respects she is more skilful even than our paper-makers ; for she takes care to retain her fibres of sufficient length, by which she renders her paper as strong as she requires. Many manufacturers of the present day cut their materials into small bits, and thus produce a rotten article. One great distinction between good and bad paper is its toughness ; and this difference is invariably pro- duced by the fibre of which it is composed being long, and therefore tough ; or short, and therefore friable.
" The wasp has been labouring at her manufacture of paper, from her first creation, with precisely the same instruments and the same materials ; and her success has been unvarying. Her machinery is very simple, and there- fore it is never out of order. She learns nothing, and she forgets nothing- Men, from time to time, lose their excellence in particular arts, and they are slow in finding out real improvements. Such improvements are often the effect of accident. Paper is now manufactured very extensively by ma- chinery in all its stages ; and thus, instead of a single sheet being made by hand, a stream of paper is poured out, which would form a roll large enough to extend round the globe, if such a length were desirable. The inventors of this machinery, Messrs. Fourdrinier, it is said, spent the enormous sum of 40,000/. in vain attempts to render the machine capable of determining with
Insect Architecture, id-
precision the width of the roll; and, at last, accomplished their object at the suggestion of a bystander, by a strap revolving upon an axis, at a cost of three shillings and sixpence. Such is the diiference between the work- ings of human knowledge and experience and those of animal instinct ! We proceed slowly, and in the dark ; but our course is not bounded by a nar- row line, for it seems difficult to say what is the perfection of any art ; animals go clearly to a given point, but they can go no further. We may, however, learn something from their perfect knowledge of what is within their range. It is not improbable that if man had attended in an earlier state of society to the labours of wasps, he would have sooner known how to make paper. We are still behind in our arts and sciences, because we have not always been observers. If we had watched the operations of in- sects, and the structure of animals in general, with more care, we might have been far advanced in the knowledge of many arts which are yet in their infancy ; for nature has given us abundance of patterns. We have learned to perfect some instruments of sound, by examining the structure of the human ear; and the mechanism of an eye has suggested some valuable improvements in achromatic glasses." (p. 85.)
Largely as we have already quoted the work, we need make no apology for presenting our readers with another long ex- tract, relating to the different texture and durability observable in the cocoons formed by caterpillars, according to the length of time the enclosed insect is to remain in its chrysalis or qui- escent state ; though, at the same time, strictly speaking, we are hardly prepared to go with our author the length of attri- buting to the little architects thought, foresight, and positive intelligence ; or to admit the propriety of the expression, that " one caterpillar is aware, while it is building the cocoon," &c., and " the other pursuing a similar course of thought,''^ &c. In our avowed and unavoidable ignorance on these subjects, we think it preferable to speak of such operations in the usual manner, as being the result of instinct.
" It is worthy of remark, as one of the most striking instances of in- stinctive foresight, that the caterpillars which build structures of this sub- stantial description, are destined to be much longer in their chrysalis trance than those which spin merely a flimsy web of silk. For the most part, indeed, the latter undergo their final transformation in a few v/eeks ; while the former continue entranced the larger portion of a year, appearing in the perfect state the summer after their architectural labours have been com- pleted. This is a remarkable example of the instinct which leads these little creatures to act with a foresight in many cases much clearer than the dictates of human prudence. In the examples before us, the instinct is more delicate and complex than that which directs other animals to provide a burrow for their winter sleep. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the one caterpillar is aware, while it is building the cocoon, that the moth into which it is about to be changed will not be in a fit state to appear be- fore the succeeding summer. The other, pursuing a sunilar course of thought may feel that the moth will see the light in a few weeks. The comparative distances of time certainly appear most difficult to be understood by an insect ; for, as far as we know, quadrupeds do not carry their intelligence to such an extent. And yet, in the solitary case of provision for a future progeny, the instinct is invariably subtle and extraordinary. What, for mstance, is more remarkable than that the insect should always place her
Vol. IV. — No. 17. e
50 Insect Atrhitecture,
^gs where her progeny will find the food which is best suited to their nature ? In almost no case does the perfect insect eat that food, so that the parent cannot judge from her own habits. , ,The Contriver of the mechanism by which insects work also directs the instinct by which they use their tools. It is exceedingly difficult, with our very limited knowledge of the springs of action in the inferior animals, to determine the motives of their industry; that is, whether they see clearly the end and object of their arrangements. A human architect, in all his plans, has regard, according to the extent of his skill, to the combination of beauty and convenience ; and m most cases he has adaptations peculiar to the circiimstarices con- nected with the purpose of the structure. In the erection of a common dwelling-house, for instance, one family requires many sleeping-rooms, an- other few; one wants its drawing-rooms in a suite, another detached. The architect knows all these wants, and provides for them. But all insects build their habitations upon the same general model, although they can slightly vary them according to circumstances. Thus, according as the uniformity, or the occasional adaptation of their work to particular situa- tions, has been most regarded by those who speculate up9n their actions, they have been held to be wholly governed by instinct or by intelligence, have been called machines or free ag'ents'. There are difficulties in either conclusion; and the truth, perhaps, lies between the two opinions. Their actions may ^entirely regult from, theijc organisation^ they are . certainly in conformity with it. Those who would deny the animal all intelligence, by which we nieari a power, resulting from selection, of deviating in small matters from a'precise rule of action, are often materialists, who shut their eyes to the creating and preserving economy of Providence. But even this belief in the infallible results of organisation does not necessarily imply the disbelief of a presiding Power. * The same wisdom,' says Bonnet, * which has constructed and arranged with so much art the various organs of ani- mals, and has made them coricur towards one determined end, has also provided that the different operations which are the natural results of the economy of the animal should concur towards the sgpue end. The creature is directed towards his object by an invisible hand; he executes with pre- cision, and by one 'effort, those works which we, so much admire; he appears to act as if he reasoned; to return to' his labour at the pi'opfer time, to change his jgchemein case of nefid. But in all this he only obfeys the secret influence ^hj^ch, ; drives him op. He is but aji jnstfunjeptj whdch cannot judge of each action, but is wound up by that ador^le Intelligence, which Ifaslracfed '6'iit for ^fery iiiseet its proper lab6urs,'as he has' traced the forbit ©f^ eajfih planet).' "When, thei-^fore, I s^^ ah. inject' wbrkitig at the cor^trWJti^fl of a nest; or k cocoon, I am impressed ;widh -respect, because it seems to pie tjiat I a^ft at,^ spjectacle where the Si^prem^i Afti^t; is hid beiiinci ihe curtain.* "' (p. 180.) '
If there J sj one > poit^ion ©f ^ lihe i little ^a^h i tefefoi<^' ilff which we feel less, dispoised tbr be satiisfifed with thah Another, it is that coQtained m thelfifth and sixth chapters, , which ti^at of the avowedly difficult subject of the arbhitecturje- and economy of the hive-beei There is here, indeed, much curious and interesting inibrniation, but mixed up, at th^ same time '(as it appears to us)^ with some error and confusion,* ' jnore espe- cially as it regards the collecting and manufacttire of wax, pi'opolis, and honey. Arid we confess that^ after having sub- mitted these chapters to a second perusal, though there is much to reward the task, we still feel some difficulty, from
Insect Architecture. SI
the statement before us, in forming a clear and correct notion? of the operations of this wonderful petticoat government {res- publica gyncecocrdtica Linnaeus) of the hive. Unwilling as we are to venture an opinion in opposition to that of so acute an observer as Mr. Rennie, we cannot help thinking that he has been misled by the great authority of Huber, in too hastily concluding that wax is manufactured by the bees from honey. Huber was an able and industrious naturalist ; but all hi& experiments, we think, are not conclusive. Without entering further into this obscure and much controverted subject, we shall merely record our opinion, that wax is not prepared from honey, as the Huberians maintain, but is fabri- cated from pollen, by undergoing an elaborate process in the second stomach of the bee ; but by what exact process, the researches of naturalists have hitherto failed to discover. So, at least, we have been taught to believe by experienced api- arians. If this opinion be correct, it is to be regretted ihat Mr, Rennie, too implicitly adhering to the dictum of an able though fallible experimenter, should have been the means of widely propagating an error on a practical point of natural history ; and that, too, under the sanction of a Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
We have scored our copy in innumerable places with notes of admiration, for the purpose of marking passages for extrac- tion ; but 6ur limits absolutely forbid us from tr^^nscribing any thing like ^\\ of those ' wJiicK w^ hac^ singled put with that view,ip3;'ogivihg,a,pl^ce to, mp|',^.:than.a.<yery small number of the interesting ob&erVations* with wbioh. the^ work abounds. Inde^(J;W^'hiaVe^^xtieri-encecl riiV ^Ikht' difficulty ltt'iiia,kirig a selection ^ ^^^ We cannot fing:; ?paj:;p, thei;etq^:^,|vt.9..^P<y ^ny thing (as !weii^qdul4 have wished to -have d^x\^\ mkAh& soaae- what> obstjure^-su'bjecjtof gall-flies, treated on'ini th^'nftiet<ee}ith chajTtter^'b^ td 'enter u^ort the rhucH;ep5^rt!)^^;^etf #e^i(!jfi' ^ to the manner in which spiders shbot out their lines, and transport! thertis^lves.throiighyitike! ainfronii one. place to an- other. Amid the'variety of theories! whidh have been formed on this subjefct, .we shall '^ontent.oiirs^lves with observing, that to <us itih© opinionj adapted by ouif author appeals, to be the corjrectioe©^ bdng'fthat which,isiiiistjbornd 6ut by actual expe- rimeilt; friaiaelj^ th^t spiderfe> jjeqnaimf the aid of a current of air in transpojtlrig themselves thirou^h^ the. atmosphere, and that ^' in perfectly motionless air they hiave not the power of darting tlieii thr^eads even, through the space of half an inch."
We should be guilty of injustice towards the editors, were we entirely to pass over in silence the numerous wood-cuts with which, as already stated, the work is illustrated. It is
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52 Bisect Architecture,
said, " there is nothing new under the sun;" accordingly we here find the good old practice revived, usual in the days of Gerarde, Parkinson, and their predecessors, of employing wood-engravings instead of copper, and incorporating them with the type in the body of the page. Wood-engravings possess many advantages ; neat and beautiful in themselves, they are produced at a comparatively cheap rate ; and the blocks, moreover, not being subject to the corltinual we^r and tear pi'oduced by the polishing and whiting-besmeared hand of the printer, endure long, and afford, without suffering im- pair, a very large number of impressions — larger than copper- plates, or even, we believe, than steel. We infinitely prefer xylographic to metallic prints, unless the latter be executed in the very first style of excellence. And here we would, in a kindly spirit, entreat all printers to do justice to the artists whose works are placed in their hand, by paying a little attention,— ^<r/r« attention, if need be, — to the manner in which they pass the blocks through the press, and previously prepare them for the operation. It is grievous to see, what frequently it is our fate to see, the effect of a beautiful wood- engraving entirely marred for want of care in striking off* the copies. Hence we are sometimes presented either with faint and indistinct impressions o\\ the one hand (as is the case with some of those in the volume before us), or on the other, with black and blotted ones ; the one arising fron^- a deficiency, the opier from a superabundance^'of ink vrith which the blocks are charged, or from some otfcr n^ismaijagerftent iii''|)assing thena through the press. But to, return: tKe low pi-fee at which the present volume is offered to th^pi|il51ic would abso- lutely disarm us of all severity of cri^cism towards its eriibel- lishments, eveh were it otherwise deserved. The wbocJ-ciits before us, though not of the first ordeir of merit, — liow,ihdeed could tliat be expected ?~ai'e yet, m most instances^ re§()ect~ able a,t least, and often good, We particularly adniire' the figure of th^ caterpillar and Gocpon of the iZiczac iTa9th at p. 172.5...the caterpillar of the Goat moth h^t'p. 189.J and the Capricorn beetle at p. ^40. In some few i^ristarices we must withhold even our qualified approbation :' for exfeple, the figure of Hesperi/2 malvae, at p. 169., is positively 'bad ; we do not know from what old author it has been copied — we say copied^ because we are confident it resembles nothing in nature, arid appears to us better suited to have found a place in the rude pages of Thomas Mouffet, the learned author oi Insectorum Theatrum^ printed in 1634, than in those of a modern work of the nineteenth century. For the credit of the book we heartily wish the cut had been omitted. We
Insect Architecture. 5%
Jiave to regret also, in the present volume, the absence of that most useful, but homely and unpretenclmg commodity, an index, without which no work, —certainly no work of this de- scription,.— ought to issue from the press. The deficiency complained of is, however, in part, and only in part, supplied by a copious table of contents.
In conclusion, we beg to assure our readers, that we have derived great pleasure and satisfaction from the perusal of this interesting little volume, having found therein much to praise, and but little, almost nothing, to find fault with. Holding, as we do, with the aphorism of antiquity, that " a great book is a great evil," we do not like the present work at all the less for being small ; and we like it a great deal more for being cheap. The extracts we have given will, we trust, be more than sufficient to recommend it to the notice of all those, whose minds are so constituted as to be suscept-- ible of any gratification from the study of insects.
It was with much pleasure that we learned from the conclud- ing paragraph of the book, that the present volume, though complete in itself, was to be followed up by a second, to be entitled Insect Transformations, While we were engaged in writing the above remarks, this second work made its appear- ance. Exactly of a piece with its predecessor, in plan, exe^ cution, and interest, it will, we doubt not, meet with the same favourable reception : all that has been said in coihmendation of the oi^e^ ^applies equally to the other. Here \^e Might clos^ ^ur remarks, confidently trusting that such qf our readers as l^aVe perused Insect Architecture will losp no time i'ri' mak- ing themselves acquainted witli its twin-brother Insect Trdns- formations. ^ We cam^ot, ^ however, dismiss this latter pev- fc^^rnaptje without briefly noticing, a' subject presented to us in the opening cliapter. In a . work of this populai^ ca'^t, a work likely, to meet with so extensive a circulation aipon^ the ipid41ing and even (as we, hope) among the lower classes, and tp become the companion, during leisure hours, of the youth of bqth sexes, it is, we think, of incalculable inipOrtance^' that tjie ptmost care should be taken to excli|d*e brldisc.dnnteiiarice ajl^uch false and pernicious doctrines As hkye, d tendency to infuse poison into the minds of those who are entering upon the innocent study of eiitomology. It is with especial satis- faction, therefore, that we see Mr. Rennie, in the first chapter of Insect Tra7isfo7'mations, exposing and holding up to merited reprobation the monstrous theories of the modern Epicurean school. We allude to the absurdities maintained by Darwin, Lamarck, and others; as, for instance, that " animals arose from a single filament »r threadlet of matter, which, by its
E 3
.i54 Insect Architecture.
efforts to procure nourishment, lengthened out parts of its body into arms and other members ; that after this ifilajnent had improved itself into, an oyster, and had bqen by chance left dry. by;, the ebbing of the tide, its efforts to reach the water ag£^in^ie;j^:|>,^i;wfc^, , the. ^partS) nearest tQ.the siea,int9 artist and legsj;..tb<at4fti^ tried, t(y rise,.fiiaq:i its.ipa,ti¥e ,|'|[:)cks,|tl^e, efforts prQ(^u<?^d win^ji^andi litnlpiQ^An?^ 9ja in6ec,t;,i^}iiiQii4n! due course of ^^, ig;?prpy,^4 i>t;sftlf , ^by, ,ft-.e^b.. £JS?rjt,s, tjli if k^^^e. . 2^ bird, the \ imo^'6 perfect im^mb^rs . be^ng .alwajf^ >heil•^itq,?]^^y ■ -transi- mitted.tp the* progeny;; thai: the diifepcent formsof the bills of bircls, \vhyiejtji9r'jkiqpked5 br<p^d,;or,Jong, ^^^:^€;^r^dvi^ly ap-quired by tji^ p^^p#i^^l ei>{}§^yoa^fj§ q|:\|:hacri<?^iuij^ tp/s^ppjy. ^heir wfvnt^j. tJ^^^;j[Ji^.longtlegge4 water-fowl [)(;Q.r^Ia$5r,^. ^zgors) in ]^j^, >v^j{,acqwire^,Jjeng^bjof,fl^ suffici^qt'to>^l«|>rate. j^heir bodies above the water in which they waded;. th^t^a^piKoJ^p^cis of a^mkable structure has thus been acquired by the bee, the moth, and the humming-bird, for the purpose of plundering the nectaries of flowers ; and that the giraffe acquired its long neck by its efforts to browse on the high branches of trees, wtiich, ^^te-* tliie Iftpes . of^ a fe>!«i thjOvUs^id ^yeai-S) it.*<Auccessfully accomplished !.v^'! Pi (\BeeInsec^'-T7^amforfnatid?is, p. 9.) We
wp/i^ey, h((g_Wj jiTi^^r^y centuries, qr tens of centuries, it took to eljevaj;^^ jty is ' VjS^c^ ^ of theorists ' from tlie , conditio^i of ^ brute fce^.^ts ^f^iy^put i^Merstanding,' into the' form ,^ncl stature, of hu^j^^n^^l^^ngi^ K^/^oj en regular ^J:'pf]^t4tio^ of such
ll^^uijl nqn^^nse^jw-puld be an insult to the ppdersj^ncHngs^ opf rea^^r^^'j^F^cl ^a^ii , jijn4ertaking.;atoit\V^^^ as'tp
-^jti|^j:^.:jv^,^fig,d,,^ recipe for the jpianufacttire of
fpfi^,js, fey ^ rqasting t|he old ones, cji^opping; th€|m,.up, and ^Wie^^mg^%)Wi^4^ \9 ^f^i^e>.^e^^'fiT«ii^pymkelets (f^S^ife^ ,p:f^^^7za/?qw^. p.i^.)^ w^ spnk 4^the ^rec^plw^ sinfp^ci^ o:lf J 0'(e_ experimenter, anc( pity th'e i^pv^^c^ .Q\,Q' d^rjj: avid ^i^iperstitious age. B at we , cannot Mp expressing oxi^.^n^igriejl^ astonishment, that in later aiul more eiil|giitene3 tirne§^j.^gj->)^ill not say, any pkilosoj)hc% oYnatiirfiisi^^nt,^ aiiy one(|^e^y;iig:Oiily ihQjfacG of a man^ shoukt he fouiufto jidyq- cate doc(;rines so utterly ,unphilosQphical, .,so e^^q^is^ely^ri^i- culp^ui^jas |;):^ose'we have above recorded, '^^e^o not, ^^ thexe^^jja^tjp^ Remotest probability pf such opinion's eyer becom- ing popular, at least on this side of the channel ; however, as there is,,npt;l[ii^ig, it ^eemg, ,^p ^b^i^rd.tp.gaip, jcredei^c^jn the minds ofi soraie^Kwe ithankMr^-Eenaiie for /hailing. :onv this oc- casion- ^nterefd' his -protest against th^mj- and held thfem tip to the ridicule they deserve. We hav^ styled these doctrines unphilooophical and absurd ; but this is not all : we think
Stokes^s Botanical Commentanes* 55
them, moreover, not a little impious ; tending as they do to rob God of the honour due unto his name, and manifesting on the part (if their advocate.^ a weak and futile attempt to deny' the Almighty thkt portion at least 6f th6 attribiftes of wisdom and ben'eficence every '*where so conspicuously' dis- played in the works of the creation. Never let the delightful study of hatiiral history be so prostituted and perverted as to be maide a' V^(^hicle for the di'sseminatiori bf athei^ni and iitt'[*)iety ! Its genuine' and legitimate fruits 'W^ s(ffirm to* be the direct reverse of ^uch' coiicilus^iWns. ** F6r fh^' Intisdble things of God from the crfeatioif of 'the' wotid' Wfer 'fclfefarly * s'ei^n, -being understood by the thiti^s that al^' made, even' his. eternal pow^r and Godheatd^'"* ' **'0 Lord, ho\v manifold are' thy wm*ks^ ? in ■'^i^dfel -fea^ ^oiini^de them* aU r the earth is fuil^bf t%^'richesj'^^'-" J''^ ^^^^^^ ' ^- '^^''*' -^^' -:-^-
.'b ,jy(f Jili /d ba'lJlipDB £Ii> -d dljilj fMSi uUJfOUIJc; -'i'lJ'A. R. Y.
J^Rf^^il^y^'jBcfiardm^ '(hmmimedH^i^ By* Jott^thafii Stokes, M.D. \ f' (.H .«! ,/A^Vol.I. 8vo. 14^. London, 1830. ! i
The author of the present 'wo^k'fias been a labourer in the vineyard of science for more than half* a century. He was the colleague of Withering in the second edition of the^?r«?2^£'- ment (^/^ British Plants, and contributed ' various' interesting niatfei^5'yiilcH*,*'tiemg ojnitted, iii" ^ul3sequ^nt Editions of "the wort, nas rendfefed fKat' impress an object 6'f 'cul^ibfettyl ^ He no^Si^^fi^ KtnPf .tefore ' th^ pub!iic%!tV^J^''*^«^^
Wjfpiise lift, 1a ^Y^^die^ Ht the kingdoih, fMs;t^/ex^li^ &im 'Irom keeping' pace with the galloping jprogress of science, he' has the rare merit of haViilg observed' for himself, with' a perseverance and in(l&^t|V vf^iy uncommon among those whb figure 'at iiead-quarte'rs a"^ tKe "oi'acles of the tabled Nbtliiiig can.be more delightful than to witness his ardoui^'aiiS^eilel'gy, the abundance of his speculations, the fluency with' '^hlchne
treats of "^alj' botanidp!! , anid'horticultural experiments; aiid, tribugh long past the epbcji 'assigned to man's ife' he is as fead\^ as ever '0'enle/' the iielt},. and, i6&rnaliy^'ili€^'mstofy'6f
and far' imofe intelligibly to the English reader^ had it been rendered thus : " iFoivthe injv^isibile fthi^igs qf God,- ev;en, his eternal pqwer and Godhead, since tlie creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." t Psalm civ. 24.
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56 Stokes^ s Botanical Co?nme?iiaries.
the lichens upon an old post, or to entertain himself with the phenomena of vegetable monsters. " When will a botanic farmer," exclaims this amiable patriarch of science, '' begin with his next wooden fence to mark, month after month, the progress of vegetation, till it decays, recording the growth of its inhabitants in another Journal of a Naturalist f^'^ ;» .
" Many oWects of enquiry present themselves to the minds of in4ividuals which they do not pursue, from the shbttrifess and uncertainty of life, or a doubt of continued residence. Who would not wish to khow how lichens, Fuci, Sertulariae, and corals grow ; but the lichen which excites the wish grows perhaps on a distant mountain,, or adheres to a mass of rock too large to be portable, and, if marked, some geologist breaks it off with his hammer. When will some observer, resident on the sea-shore, relate the growth of the i^'iici which vegetate between high and low water-mark ? When will some zoologist take lodgings for a summer at Red Wharf Bay near Beaumaris, in Anglesea, to observe in Ellis's aquatic microscope the growth of Sertulariae ? If a society possessed of a garden would invite the travelling bo^nist 1;o send specimens of lichens growing on rock, they might be deposited in their garden, and their dimensions given in their catalogue, and their growth be- come the subject of future histories. I have often observed posts and rails in a state of decay covered with iichen/raxineus and Priinastri, and have wished to know theijr age. Wheij wil( a botanic farmer begin with,hi^ next wooden fence, and mark, month after month, the progress 6r vegetation till it dec^Sj'Tecol'dihg" the groWtH df itsi ifclhabitfeints in dnother Journal^ of a Naturalist !" {^rti.y^.-n.) '^i '' ; r *" ;!:v,'--,- /i t» ■ ■ •-. - - ■ r/i,
After a d,edication to the j^iemory; jof a deceased friend, he enters upon a preface, replete with the product of an active mind, original, minute, instructive, full of anecdote, and amusing. He i^ the C9nnecting link, bet^vee^ri' 'tHe^fdssn arid recent botanists^' and sjf)'eaks fartiiliariyjbf pWi^s'^^ rffJ'V^-
garded \)y the present generation as' belonging' to' ^liotl^er^ of the world." Among the rest of 'Hi^ inf<Drmatifc>hJ,^ fe gi'ves'ah account, qf all the botanic garden^ within his knowledge,^ fi^ofn Paradise dqwHw^rds. ' . ' ' ;.' rr-^if»q
.' ■. ■ / \ : .' -V: >^. jnofi ^r
" Soho gardai, north of !^irmingh^m, , on. -siiideouS sand ^p^ gr^>1el, cultivated by Boulton, , paatner, of Wa^t, in ,the i manufacture^ pf^Ayatt's improved steam-engine. Hither resorted, on the Sunday nearest the full moon, James Watt, engineer, and fellow-labourer with Black on 'l^t^rit heat, arid who, as well as Mrs. Wat?ts, collected plants in Cornwall ^"Okmes Kier, translator of Macquer's Ch(^nic<d Dictionary ; Erasmus DarwinyaiJtl\or of Zoonomia (a work which would be oftener consulted if it had, ar\,jnd^x to volumes and pages) and PHytologia^ and who, in conjunction with Boothby, author bf fables, and Jacksori, pi"inter of the work, plarinidd ahd published a translation of Linnaeus' s dew. Plant, and Syst.-V^g.y in Sivojs. 8vo,- and W. Withering, who, in conjunction with Sne}r^ of , Belmoht, arid Turton of Stafford, planned, and which he afterwards executed, tlje fii'st version, revised'by me, of Linnaeus's generic descriptions and specific cha- racters of British plants, under the title of a 'Botanical Arrangemeiit.' On Priestley's accepting the office of pastor of the Presbytman congregation in New Meeting Street in Birmingham, the Luntu* Society changed its day of meeting to Monday, the members dining in rotation at each other's
Greville^s A.'lgce Britdnnicce. $7
houses, and continuing to do so till the Birmingham riots drove Priestley to Northumberland in the United States." (p. cxxvi.)
If our limits permitted, we could give many extracts which would instruct and delight our readers; and which would show that the study of the minutest objects in nature can fill the mind with pleasure, and animate it with an ardour and benevolent feeling which the philosophy of the world laughs at and scorns. Our venerable author is not one of those described by Wordsworth, —
" A prying slave,
Who peeps and botanises upon his mother's grave."
Art. III. A'IgcB Britdnnicce / or, Descriptions of the Marine and other inarticulated Plants of the British Islands belonging to the Order hUgm ; with Plates illustrative of the Genera. By Robert Kaye Greville, LL.D. &c. Edinburgh, 1830.
With the exception of Dr. Hooker's Monograph of the Jungermcinnisd, there has appeared, during the present cen-- tury, no work in any department of British botany which can be compared with the one before us in point of scientific know- ledge and originality. It is, unlike the Floras which have of late Issued from the press, no hasty composition, but the result of the personaj, inyestigation, continued for several successive years, of its gifted and zealous author, who has patiently watched the habits of most of our species on their native rocks, and marked diligently their progress, from their Erst appearance to their present state ; and it treats of a class of plants hitherto imperfectly known, and yet than which there is none more interesting, whether we consider the variety of their forms and colouring, or the peculiarities of their station and structure, or the inlpoi:tant part which they play in the economy of nature. , .'
Dr. Greville introduces his readers to the systematic part of his work by an essay of considerable length and heteroge- neous character. It contains an outline of the scientific history of algology, too brief to be either interesting or instructive; a general view of the geographical distribution of the inarticu- lated ^Igse'; a plea for those who devote themselves to the study of marine botany, or rather of plants in general, which seems to us somewhat irrelevant ; and concludes with a full and interesting account of the economical uses of the tribe. To all this there can be no possible objection ; but we think something better, or rather something additional, might have
58 Grevitle^s Psllgce J3ritd?micce.
been done. Instead of repeating, ad nauseam, common-place arguments in favour of the students 6f nature, Dr. Greville would have profitably occupied the space with a ' condensed and continuous view of' the anatomy •and physiblbgy 6f the ^'Igse: points little or nbt at' ^1 elucidated by oiil^ 'eleilie'iitary authors^ and points \^hich the'^r6!^eiit d!Mhor'ife'cfeftiiinly best qualified' to ^tiite'^leaHj^ ^rid s'ati^fadtorily. ' The mtliliier in which' J^l'gafe 'ablaorb th^ir fo6d, b3)^'what vessdls'it cii*culates and is^ elabiorat€d' t& si pr6p^ n^Aritoertt, iii'what state nhh by what means the 'excess is expefied, 'dhd' the action of sea- weed on the circumfluent medium ; these are questions relative to which we would have b^^ti ^I'ad id hav*e received some infor- mation ; and they are questions, the discussion of which would tend to rescue the study from the sneers of the scoffer more effectually than a piige .or. two of vague and silly declamation. "We could have vrishedTJdso that something more particalar had been ^id of the distribution of our native! spedljes.' The subject has not been altogether neglect^djl^ut, ^fe information brought tqgether is very trivial and'unsatisfaetoiy. From the work itself, perhaps, one might with care, and 'n6t without difficulty, father materials for an esslitoW"thi§ stibjett; but the task would have been comparativelye^sy to l)r. Greville . Let him not say that he has done enough in ijiidi eating under every species its, peculiar range, by- the citation of many habitats. This will feot do; for particulars thus doled oiii^ 'by ^ie^^ieal have little^nterest except 'to the colle^pt^^^ ^^'^,'^)y.ell,'npt^pn the memory. !We shall immediately revert to thm mlfj^^l^hut we wish first to furnish our leaders witli the content)© (jf^heivork. After the introduction foflows a'synopsis of the^eHferfaiy^rf^ed into order^, or, a^'they ^jight properly t^J^y^'j^^'e^ j^^npipi- nated, intQ families, according to the author'sAVk:W'S,!(vrhioh are in many respects original; and- an enumeration (S^falP tfe^ spe- cies which" are known, whether" British or fo'r^igrf^ l?teJ|4t)our which this^^jCatalogue has cost the author must ii^y)^.'ti^ri great ; but it affbj'ds no room for criticism.. To«i|:. i* app^Media co- pious list of authors who have written on .^^Igae ; and* ihis again is succeeded by the proper object of the'b'Obk^ the accqi^iit of our native species, which are described w,ith,,^c;i:^eaiiel n^inute- ness whicli. leaves little to be desired. 'The^cli'araiot^s.of the genera and species have been all revised ^alJ*d'd6t'i^e6ted;'thfe synonyme^ are more select than numerous, aM witli .this w^e find no fault, but we do "regret the want of reference. to some of the older botanists ; their works are beginning, unfortu- nately, to be neglected. The species mentioned by Ray, in his admirable Si/nopsis, ought certainly to have b^eb ascer-
Grevilk^s k'lga; Britdnnica,
S9
tained, were it for no other reason than from a becoming re- spect to the memory of a naturaHst whose equal has not since arisenJn this country. . .* , . i. . u *'>. '
The fo)lp>ying taibW, wl)ich,we have been at: pains to draw out, will exhibit, a vji^^y pf Dr. GreviUe's. arrangement, with an indica|;ion of the; ^luuib^r , of ,$p^cLes; ascertained to belong to each giepw^j.f^Pfl of the numbei: which are British. From the latter, >Ye.ejxcj,u^e, t'^w. species qJT Sargassumi described as such by iQij". prre^yiile: ;: f^r? ;f^tainly5 they, ^nevei; -■ gre^Y on a British coa§|;, ^;jxi^ ,wi;ijf p.j^j^^ftjftl'^ il^
iviijsln anoitg'^rip yfc o^oriJ iminh^m tnafjAufH:yii'>;> 1
Ji...w.)'rffv'fn.in'y-M-> (li )u].<' >,h )r:i. );:m. 79;i» bno ^ U"' ' -
'om 'I'uhoOf' sht to s'lfiar* t^fti
NuttbetOf Species.
•British Species.
Nuinfcer of Sppci|^,
British Species.
Fawk, L .iSucoifiiE^iidb jrrRjH Jiiii?
o^iliSTb^
y^'j
■^$?^^^itKfi md io nnrrudfilaib rbinana , r __- , , - i^ --.,■,
dj^jgojij
w/
I 7^ beiroQoccus, nov. ge«. i .- ■ '^' °W.-^cyto'thalik, novi geniy""-' ■''ly ' L> 9.* G€>Gcophora, 7io?^. '^V^*'<^ii'^
r 12. Motuhformia - ,,
J'/ Ja4:P^>|lib2icfiflSlt ol J'i979T ^Jf 'ho7J^(i$cii'beiTO9]nr)a f«{j fijiv/ a^^bus*!
. ^ 16, Lichina - r - , ^
cri 9no fots [iMirno'^
r ' t.
(J f^gnf! uorl^Bq t ofiqs;! tf'ib^mn '
nsjd .^q«d'i
i
;d 1)1 01 bi Jon <|.d
r.n Diili
n^<l)
4>
. /^
roiV
o;:
rv
J89 ftJin
't0<>
fl^id d^in" iiori ldT>^ yj^dj-^B
Y^ ion id
iJ >o
iixj nml©u^viM«B^rf?^'iod3m3 adi oi trumooTB ^^iVimvA
u>ud|?\>^F^3?|fSo'l lo ri>Jtiia-l3d.^^w 20. Laminana - . -i. ^ -^
"ii-rig^ a;j^j.^j^i[ Tciixm •^oatuB opt .teop
«^
Cf
ii'iili^S^nQo^-iria^ ¥^i |f<?^io n^itiiw avp-dodk mo^uR
2.4. nesmaresba
oiq doiiJ
lo to5fio i}^
nit ')26.-''6iio<!»6ohtiUs9dT -.bsiiaali sd-oi 9 ^pfn, |V,,€HQF^Aiii^/>J)^gXY9'I lllS nS'^rfJ'ov
t?' ^^T^n'^^^'^'v >'^ro-f)mijn ntb Jjol). tam. V I. DicTYo TExE - - 46'
<*T- 2i9ii AspeWj>C(SCCUSf 9TB.^>l'fOW ' 19^ '8
31. Punctaria, 7?oy..ge^,-^,. . ^^;-
32. Stritiria, nov. gen.
gR i
dnotii
8 'a
sw tl d ittcJoJ
)9r|3^L'
i loi? d
ij'l ol U ijni 91
lO f?I9bl
ptni
9iB''h*>i tojjii^gid
lb Jb
(;d bg])9
^>yl jjiair q» boB 9ir, *?
d
AW r il9yrt
.89 ;D9 89 ^By
/I I p.
IC9
♦ra/
do?<' , n|.
2
R-J > ,1
,ik».d
3l">rU!i J
1
••" 2
3
1
60
Greville^s AUgcs Brildnnica.
33. Dictyosiphon, 7iov. gen.
34. Dictyota
35. Cutleri«, nov. gen.
36. Padina
37. Halyseris
Fam. VII. FURCELLARIE^^
38. Furcellaria
Fam. VIII. SPONGIOCA^RPEiE
39. Polyides Fam. IX. Flori'de^
40. Claudea
41. Amdnsia
42. Delessem
43. Nitophyllum, nov. gen.
44. Hymenena, nov. gen.
45. Rhodomenia, nov. gen. - ^ 46. Bo'tryocarpa, liev. 'gen. "'' ]^ . 47; Thamnoptlora i.-l^ ,j
^8. P|ocamium. , .,-,.(,
49. Microcladia, nov. gen,
50. Odonthalia ' -"'^ ^'-'i^
5 1 . Dictyomenia, tiov.' geni ■ i .< 1 *-
52. Rhodomela - ■ ^
53. Alsidium - -,
54. Bonnemaisoma y- • ^^
55. Laurencia -* *'^ Xio j;
56. Gastridium : 'Min 41,^
57. Corall6psi^3( wo«;.-^f'. .jm/j
58. Acan1;h6pho£a ^ , ,{-^ 7
59. Grecillaria, wot), gen. /^ . ^ *-
' ' eb'.'Ch^ndrus ' ' ''''''■ ^- f'">';i ^
•J ' '61, Phyii6phora, ^«>M.',g^!jMit: If Ij; 62; iSph8ero(j(Sccus ^ ,< , ^nn: "jriifT ,,„ .63. 'Bowmsia.novL,gen. ^ - .' _. ''"^ '64.^Gelidiam^^^^=^J^^\^>?^^ '•'*^^65.'Gigkkiha ^ "^^vL'^ iQfL Ju '''>"66. Gi-ateloupwa t- ibur- itj/** ^7. Hypnea I ,,,^ ..iriliijo ^U
68. Chaetospora^,,, ^ t r -
69. Ptilota-^ ioirXn^lq:_
70. Dasia -
71. Champia , -, ,
72. Digenia J' 7 ^^I? ano r Fam. X. Thausma^^ije^^^ - 'i.- ^' '''^^-
73. Thausmasia
Fam. XL GASTROCA^R^EiE - '-
74. Iridae'a ^f^l r){»;'-
75. Halymenia "> /fjT -j
76. DumoRtia / -,^^ ^^ ..
77. Catenella, «oi;. gew. ' "- - Fam. XII. Caule'r^e^' H ;;f^ >.
78. Caulerpa -^1' Fam. XIII. £7lva'ce.e
79. Anadyomene
Ofl
Iji
Number of Species.
I
2 205
t" ft --Mitt
2. ii/i"or
nr?i.-bifacjf iJ /fl. 7h ritivt niir il Mi , mcfjod :
1) { fiUf.
27
23
36
British Species.
1
1
58
iti
11 i ^ru
lli
I'l
lofit J mIj-jg
« '1 u^'J )
6'
15
Number of Species.
■; li ■ ,....11 .b-
1
1
• 8 13
7
16 1
"1
•^ ■■- \% »
I
S
--> il«u .^
J jfife to
5 Tsi^r y
1. ''•■^*4'' ''■■
1
2 , .
^ ■'' ( I. I
10
t .40 .
6
23.-;.v'
British Species.
O
6 10
1
1
'' 1
^'
I » . 4
i .. ^-
!• *..
UL
;!i lit
>0 M
Greviiys hllgce Britdnnicce,
61
|
Number of Species. |
British Species. |
Number of Species. |
British Species, |
||
|
80. Porphyra 81. mva |
- |
- |
- |
4 '■ ..--18! ■ |
3 7 |
|
82. Bangf« 83. Tetraspora 84. Enteromorpha |
- |
:" |
- 'f |
. 1 < 4 |
|
|
85. Valonia |
. i |
- T. ■■ d |
HK.*:i'3 |
i r-?3.ii / |
, ",i: |
|
86. Alysium Fam. XIV. SiPiio'NEiE |
- |
37 |
K |
||
|
87. Codium |
- |
- ^■J^x^S\ |
' 2 |
||
|
88. Bryopsis 89. Vauchem |
- |
' i -J , , |
-. id ■ ■ 28; |
2- t 8 |
|
|
90. Botrjdium |
Total |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
575 |
139 |
575 |
139 |
It would thus appear that the British inarticulated A'lgas form rather more than one fourth of the whole ; but the esti- mate is too high, for our shores have been explored so mi- nutely, that very few can remain for future discovery ; while, on other coasts, hundreds, probably, have as yet blushed un- seen. In the family Florideae are included not much less than half of our native species : they are excellent in beauty and variety, and occur abundantly on all our coasts, though there are among them many which are rare and local. In. the Irish Sea they are amazingly luxuriant. They grow in de^p waters^ or in the crystal pools of a rocky shore ; or tfiey <?lothe the stems of the Laminariae with a rich tapestry »;,.! We >knj^w no- thing among plants more charming, moi^eiex.hjlarating'<to the eye, than the Ptilota, the Bonnemais6n?»i or thei^dwjirable Plocamimii, as they float, spread out in all their, fpli^iess; and look ye where at the bottom of that silver well th^ Pelesserfa spreads her leaves. Saw ye ever such a roseate cirale^ such a gracefulness of leaf, perfect in its outline and undulition ; saw ye ever spch purity and such splendour of colour ?' Nay, my friend, unless thou hast , , q v
• " Loved to walk where none had walk'd befdrej -^ \. ., , About the rocks that run along the; $hor^,'*|^ ^'^ -^\, .
and with a tutored eye, thou never before i^^wesi'^i^ticH perfect beauty in* Flora's domain ! And yet, notwithstanding their number, the Florideae exert comparatively little influence on the character of our marine vegetation. The iFutoideae, the Laminarieae, and the ([/Ivaceae are the families which more particularly give this character. The former, numerous in individuals, and very valuable, as from them kelp is princi- pally made, occupy with their blackness all the space between
62 Grevilte*s AHgce Brit&nnicd*,
low and high water-marks, living an amphibious sort of life, alternately exposed to the atmosphere, arid covered by the tide. The t/lvse and Porpbyrae intermix with them, and give some variety to the shore by their greeri ' ^rid j>urple fronds. The Laminariese oceupy a lower icitit?, ' fdi* they are strictly aquatic, and choose, therefoi^, k statioti nOt liable to be left dry at the reflux of the tide. With the ejiception of L. debilis and latifolia, the others are widely and generally distributed along our coasts, affording shade and shelter to myi'iads of creeping things, and becoming ultimately a source of profit to the agriculturist, to whom the " alga projecta vilior " is an unintelligible comparison. The other families may be considered as subordinate ; for, aithough maiiy genera and species amongst them, as, for example, Chordaria, Fur- cellaria, Desmardst/a aculeata, &c., ai'e met mth abundantly everywhere;, and many others, though local, are plentiful enough, lyet, from their smaller size, or th^il^ cdncealed stations, they make no materrafl change t^n- the ^{)^earatice of the coast., " It is easy to perceive," sayb'Dn Greville, *^ that some species, Gelidium corneum, Phyllophora rubens, and Sphserococcus <:oronopif()lius, for example, becan*ie more plen- tiful and more luxuriant as we travel from north to south; and, on the other hand, that Ptilota plumosa, Rhod6mela lycopodic)ides, Rhodomenia sobolifera, and several others, occur more frequently, and in a finer state, as we approach thei>nort}>* Qdoothaliia dentto and Rhod^rriia cristata are co^fin^d jto >the northern pai^ts-of Great' Britain'; whil^ the Cystosefifae, JFucuSi tubercul«itus^ Haliseris^polypOdioide^i'Rhb- donjiieijiaJubsLtdirR. Teied^i, MicikiycMdia ' glandulosa, ■Rht)d'6i- mela ^pij^^astrbides^ < lLa;ua:eneiw tenitis^itti^'^t'Msy'U 'reriif6niirs, an4 m^i»y!/(ix1ihetos»,»*rei<K)nfi«hied^'tb^the^feoUthei'tt parts. 'Oih^rs, agaia, ,sufcih. asitlieyj^uci ifi genemli the iaminaVie?ae, itiahy Dele^feri(^,'«omejNito^ylkef Ladr^ntf^, Gasti-fdia, anfd Ghoir- dri,,!poigj&efis 4i0i0i extended « a ratige to be influenced by^any change « of )te!mpearatHire ^between- thfe Ti6ii!herh ■ boiinddry 'of Scotland alnd the soath-w^terni poilit of England. '^ '"(Inti^M.', p. x.) i The causes which influence the distfribution of the ^'Ig^ or^ a (particular coast are not' well known. Temperature is one jf but there are- many faicts <whi^h the admission of this cause will <iK)t explain. " A few yatds is,4n s^onie instances,' sufficient to create a change ; and the space of three or four miles a very striking one ; " not merely in regard to species, but in their luxuriance and rapidity of developement. The nature of the soil, according to Dr. Greville, has here much influence. " Thus," says he, " calcareous rocks favour the production of some species, sandstone and basalt that of
Greville's K'lgce Britcmnica. ^^^
others ; and it would appear that the soil has an effect even upon those A'Xgad which grow parasitically upon the stems of the lai'ger species." (p. viii.) But how far will this coincide with a generally entertained opinion that y41gae derive no nourishment from the SOU, but support merely ? and sometimes certainly, to all appearance independently of this cause, as the doctor immediately adds, " peculiar forms predominate in certain, localities, both in regard to genera and species, which, as we approach their boundaries, gradually disappear, and often give place to others equally characteristic."
It will tell ill for the progress of botanical science in this country if the h^lgce Britannic(2 does not meet with such un- equivocal encouragement as shall induce its author to go on and illustrate the jointed tribes in a similar manner. I strongly recommend it to you, my young readers, who, smitten with "the lovq pf r}ature,.are:^bput to enter this fine fi^ld ; and more especially, I copmepd it to the fair botanist, if any such may perchance honour this notice with a perusal. " It is not," says the author, -" without a feelingof extreme pleasure that, by means of the present work, X shall place m the hands of my fair and inteHigent; countrywomen a guide to some of the wonders of thq great deep ; nor need I be ashamed to con- fess, that I; have kept theni in view throughout the whole undertaking. To them we ^re indebted for much of what we know v^pon the^^ubject/' ^The names ©f Hutchins, Griffiths, Hill, Cutler,, a^d tj^^r e,»th^ ladies tee aJiluded to, are proudly nijigbef^fl aiuqpg^$|the J^est algolpgpts ; and det their example' Stini|^t^_^jrpjjf^j^.|<{\,^q^lJ^en 'There is .
a pk^^^ejijt^^thie pathless, ^hpre lat all, times andseQSQ.ni^;vand to ^^]J^^jtj|9 Jh^m chie|]y,i\^hphave taught^the^ ejjre^tlyse*^ what the .YUlgar ^e^^ , np^tp ,wjip Jn,j^T wpitthiefeii £Dea>-we€d >&d/st!range^ thoughts and visitings. And.^iia^jt laots haekwM-ds af'despond-' ing eye at that fearful list offeailjgaSi^iaidi'gedera^xexhibited iii\ the tablp. j ,. .Tf hey. j ?^%^ p^rhapSji more vinumeiWHis than = they m Jgh J h|a,y ^ , |iee?i( | , ^X ' jsuperabundant tliseriminatioh is the fashipi^, an4 as Sir J. E.iSmijthjveifpjiiistly remarked, also' " the ;bane of.riajtiJV^L-sciefice'attfthe jptesent day : " yet any difficulties in ascertaining, ^their characters, in the present case,, IJ)r. Grevillje Jifts ir^m/ov«^d,iby ad series of jldmirable figu^-^s, strikipgly ,ch£ir;ai?twi^tic^yjaitd beautifujly coloured. iuiW ro '^^lib 'to yocq- Jib bii-i jo^-ixflj 15 rri^Di'; ol JU'^i jSJ, -Hv>q'OJ bf/.^9i iiJ {btr.rn toH *' ; MO Mf^iilnic^-i-^ 1 "' .n jn'jni,.|olM/t.b "^o 7trl>i(|ij. buB ■^^ii&yvmx iiHilj «
6i,4 , Catalogue of Worh on Natural History,
Art. IV. Catalogue of Works on Natural Ilistori/, lately published, ivith some Notice of those considered the most interesting to British Naturalists.
The Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society delineated ; being Descriptions and Figures in illustration of the Natural History of the Living Animals in the Society's Collection. The Drawings by William Harvey; engraved by Branston and Wright, assisted by other artists. Published with the Sanction of the Council, under the Superintendence of the Secretary and Vice- Secretary of the Society. 8vo. London, 1830. Vol. L Quadrupeds.
The quarter whence this work emanates is quite a sufficient sanction for the excellence of the scientific portion of its contents ; and when we add that the plates are designed by Harvey, that most of them were engraved by Branston and Wright, and that the work is printed at the Chiswick press, nothing need be said of the superior style in which it is got up. The editor (IMr. E. T. Bennett) offers his acknowledgments in his preface to Mr. Vigors, " for his general revision of the work, and for numerous valuable suggestions. To Mr. Broderip he is also indebted for the communication of much interesting information ; as well as to Dr. Wallich, Mr. Yarrell, and other valued friends who have kindly assisted him in his task." Mr. Bennett also thanks Mr. Harvey, " for the patient attention with which he watched the manners of the animals " he has delineated ; and Messrs. Branston and Wright, " for the pains they also have taken to make them- selves masters of the subject previously to the execution of the cuts." We wish to point out these circumstances particularly to the attention of our readers ; as we think that nothing can more decidedly mark the great progress which is now making in every branch of education, than to find artists taking a scientific interest in the subjects v/hich they are employed to illustrate. The days of mere mechanical labour are, indeed, rapidly passing away, and the higher qualities of the mind are now constantly called into action.
Some of the anecdotes of animals in the volume before us (particularly those of the beaver called "Binny") are very entertaining; and the descriptions of the Chincella and Ratel are very interesting on account of the rarity of these animals. Altogether, the work forms an extremely beautiful and instructive volume, and we have no doubt of its becoming a popular favourite. — J. W. L,
Supplement to English Botany. Nos. VI. — XIV. London. 8vo. 3*. each Number.
The English Botany of the late Sir J. E. Smith and Mr. Sowerby is a work which not only does honour to its authors in their respective depart- ments, but to the nation which gave them encouragement to prosecute to the completion so extensive an undertaking. The decline of science in Great Britain has become all at once a theme of lamentation ; and we now, for the first time, have begun to discover that presidents and secretaries of scientific institutions ought to be provided for by the people. We are not among those who shall give any opposition to so salutary and convenient a doctrine. Nevertheless we cannot shut our eyes to some advantages which belong to the system of leaving even science to find its own level, without adventitious assistance. No other country can boast of a national Flora, in which every indigenous plant, known to the botanists of the time, has been figured and described. Many splendid fragments have been pub- lished by the fostering care of princes and patrons, but nowhere else has a work of this nature, combining ornament with utility, and a sufficient
So'werhy^s Supplement to Eriglish Botany. 65
degree of pictorial beauty with scientific exactness, been brought to a suc- cessful termination by the patronage of the public alone. Besides, where is there a larger number of persons living by authorship, and when do we witness more frequently the union of science with trade ? Under any other system the difficulty would be to preserve this advantageous union in an active state, so important to the prosperity of the country, and the instruc- tion of the public. Books for the people, and those of the best kind, are sold to a greater extent in England than in any other country on the face of the globe ; and it is certain no such result could have followed from a system of royal or government patronage. We probably should have had a few more profound scholars, stars of the first magnitude, who would have illuminated the firmament ; but the mass of the people would have groped in darkness, not vastly benefited by the splendour of the ascendant light.
In England we have brought into play the interests and the gratifications -of the public to support science ; and it may well be doubted whether any other mode of patronage is so^well suited to our condition. Men of science take a station in society both honourable and, in many cases, profitable ; and the Messrs. Sowerby, father and sons, the authors of the work now under our notice, by adopting natural history, the least profitable of any pursuit, have acquired a rank which greater men might envy, and an inde- pendence which the greatest frequently do not attain. Long may they and their class continue to flourish, and thus negative the assertion that science is placed on a discreditable footing in Great Britain !
The numbers of the Supplement to English Botany which lie before us contain several very interesting additions to the Flora of the country ; and in every case the plates are executed by Mr. James D. C. Sowerby, while the descriptions are furnished by some of the most acute botanists of the day. Among the contributions we may notice jErica ciliaris, found by the Rev. Mr. Tozer near Truro \ Cyperu* fuscus, which we have endea- voured to persuade ourselves may be wild ; i?eseda fruticulosa, which is probably not so, but is spreading itself apace ; Chaerophyllum aromaticum ; Orobanche caryophyllacea ; Hierochloe borealis; ./uncus capitatus ; Doroni- cum Pardalianches, being the true plant, that figured in English Botany proving to be the jolantaglneum. Crocus prae^cox and aureus are probably escapes from the garden ; but we quarrel not with them. What we do quarrel with is, that the contributors to the work have palmed upon us so many obscure and undefinable species, which are only known empirically, and are not capable of being held within any definite characters. It is desirable, without doubt, that even these should be recognised by the accomplished botanist ; yet to all but the initiated they are utterly worthless ; and the raising of them to the rank of species, and assigning to them names of equal degree, is involving the whole subject in obscurity, and leading the novice into darkness, confusion, and despair. This eternal splitting of hairs is become the bane of natural history, is unworthy of science, and its advocates will one day have to lament that they have stood sponsors to such a spurious and equivocal offspring. Why do not these lynx-eyed contri- butors turn their attention to some other parts of their subject, record facts, extend observation, connect the knowledge we have with some we have not ; show the length, breadth, heighth, and depth of their science ; the range, conditions, uses, place, and ends of the plants they study ; notice their geographical and geological relations, and be no longer content with the meagre