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principal woods near London, and the most frequented by Entomologists, are Coombe Wood and Norwood in Surrey,-Birch Wood, Darent Wood, and woods round Bexley in Kent. Coombe Wood has long been celebrated for the great variety of insects which it produces. Birch Wood is on the Maidstone road, and is of great extent: near the fourteen mile stone on this road is a large chalk-pit, in which many rare insects are to be obtained. Bexley, a small village, lies between Crayford and Foot's Cray, In these woods collectors will meet with great success: near the village is a large sand-pit which produces an immense number of Coleopterous and Hymenopterous insects. There are also some rural lanes round the village which produce a great variety of insects in the rivers and brooks many rare aquatics have been taken. Norwood is well known, and is but a short distance from the metropolis: but the inconsiderate game-keepers will frequently interrupt and warn the unoffending Entomologist to quit the wood immediately, not allowing that ours is untaxed and undisputed game.'

HEATHS and COMMONS.-Many insects are confined to these situations, not only on account of plants which grow in no other places, but of the cattle and their dung, in the latter of which many thousands of insects may be found in a single day in the months of April and May; these are principally of the Coleop terous order. The principal commons near London are Wandsworth and Wimbledon in Surrey; Epping Forest; Lessness Heath, Erith, and Bexley in Kent: the ponds in those places produce many very local insects.

SAND-PITS.-The largest sand-pit we are acquainted with is at Charlton, near the seven mile-stone, on the lower road to Woolwich. In this pit we met with the following rare insects, Copris Tunarius, Notoxus monoceros, Lixus sulcirostris, &c. Minute insects are very abundant; the roots of grass, about which the latter are found, should be carefully examined: an Entomologist may find full employment for a whole day at this place. There are also several sand-pits on Hampstead Heath.

MEADOWS, MARSHES, and PONDS.—In meadows, when the Ranunculi or butter-cups are in blossom, many Musca and Dipterous insects are found: the flags or rushes are the habitations of Cassida, Donacia, &c. The drills in marshes should be examined, as many species of insects are found on the long grass, as also the larvæ of several Lepidoptera. Neuroptera are generally confined to these situations, especially if any hedges or trees are near the spot. We have collected in the marshes of Plaistow, West-Ham, Barking, Hackney, and Battersea, with much success. Ponds afford to the lover of the microscope an infinite number of highly interesting objects, that are best obtained by means of the landing-net, which should be made of strong cloth, but sufficiently

open to allow the water to escape. The mud which is brought up from the bottom of the ponds should be examined, and what small insects are found may be put in a small phial filled with water, which will not only clean them but keep them alive; and in many instances, upon a close examination, the Naturalist will be surprised at these most wonderful productions of Nature. To the Entomologist this mode of collecting will be equally ad· vantageous, as he will obtain many species of Dyticida, Notonectidæ, &c.

Moss, DECAYED TREES, ROOTS of GRASS, &c.-Many insects will be found in moss and under it: the roots and wood of decayed trees afford nourishment and a habitation to a number of insects; many of the larvæ of the Lepidoptera penetrate the trunks of trees in all directions: most of the Cerambyces feed on wood, as well as some species of Carabidæ, Elateridæ, &c. In seeking for these the digger is generally used, as it is sometimes necessary to dig six or seven inches into the wood before they are found.

BANKS of PONDS and ROOTS of GRASS.-These are never-failing sources to the collector, which may be resorted to at all seasons of the year, and in general with great success: those banks are to be preferred which have the morning or noon-day sun: the Entomologist may sit down and collect with the greatest ease an immense number of Staphilinida. Pselaphi are generally taken in these situations.

BANKS OF RIVERS, SANDY SEA SHORES, &c.-These situations are productive of a great variety of Coleoptera, Crustacea, &c. The dead animals that are thrown on the shores should be carefully examined, as they are the food of Silphiada, Staphilinida, &c. May and June are the best times for collecting in these situations.

DEAD ANIMALS, DRIED BONES, &c. should constantly be examined, as these are the natural habitats of several insects. Dead moles are frequently found hanging on bushes; under these the Entomologist should hold his net, and shake the boughs on which the animals are hung, as a great number of Coleoptera generally inhabit them.

FUNGI, BOLETI, and FLOWERS, ought constantly, when met with, to be examined, as many exceedingly rare insects inhabit them. -Samouelle's Introduction to British Entomology, pp. 312-314. To this work, also, we refer for a description and a plate of the apparatus to be employed in collecting insects, as well as for some excellent directions respecting their preservation and arrangement in cabinets.

The grasshopper now makes his appearance, floating among the green leaves, and with his

Sweet prophetic song

Foretelling summer days.

The grasshopper is still my friend,
The minute-sound of many a sunny hour
Passed on a thymy hill, when I could send
My soul in search thereof by bank and bower,
Till lured far from it by a foxglove flower
Nodding too dangerously above the crag,
Not to excite the passion and the power

To climb the steep, and down the blossoms drag,
Them the marsh-crocus joined, and yellow water-flag.
Shrill sings the drowsy Wassailler in his dome,
Yon grassy wilderness where curls the fern,
And creeps the ivy; with the wish to rove
He spreads his sails, and bright is his sojourn
'Mid chalices with dews in every urn:
All flying things a like delight have found-
Where'er 1 gaze, to what new region turn,
Ten thousand insects in the air abound,

Flitting on glancing wings that yield a summer-sound.
WIFFEN'S Aonian Hours.

Marigolds and pæonies and roses, including the guelder-rose, with its balls of dazzling whiteness, now display their beauties. The Star of Bethlehem shines in all its splendour, and pinks and sweet-william add their pretty colours: the panicled lychnidea and red valerian ornament our gardens at this period, the delicate lilac of the one forming a pleasing contrast with the rich crimson of the other. The blossoms of the sweet-brier are now open: the white lily, and the flower-de-luce, or iris, with its splendid floscules and curiously-formed pistils, shine in the garden. The forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris) also flowers in June, and throughout the summer. See some beautiful lines on this flower in our last volume, p. 176.

In this month, the gum-cistus tribe shed daily their abundant flowers, covering the ground with their delicate blossoms. The fragrant honeysuckle gives out its charming perfume.

The Sun is high in heaven, and from his throne

Of glory flings abroad the fervid day.

Nature beneath the lustre of his eye

Droops languidly. The breezeless groves are mute ;
Yet still the merry-grasshopper his lay

Chants blithely, and the bee on mossy bank
Sings to the rose; while strays from flower to flower,
Gay child of beauty on empurpled wing,

The wandering butterfly.

PENNIE'S Scenes in Palestine.

The fern-owl may be seen about the middle of the month, in the evening, among the branches of oaks, in pursuit of its favourite repast, the fern-chaffer. Mackerel (Scomber scomber) are taken in abundance this month.

The sallow, which, in March, afforded its yellowtufted catkins as a sort of supplementary palms for 'babes and sucklings,' now affords a cotton attached to its seeds, which at any rate serves as a lining for the nests of some small birds, and might, probably, be manufactured for the use of man.

The several kinds of corn come into ear and flower in June, as well as most of the numerous species of grasses. Gooseberries, currants, and strawberries, now begin to ripen. The elder-tree is in flower, and promises a rich supply of fruit to make our favourite beverage of a cold winter's evening.

The hay-harvest commences about the end of the month, in the southern and midland parts of the kingdom. About this time, also, birds cease their notes. The rural ceremony of sheep-shearing usually takes place in June, and was formerly celebrated with much innocent pastime.

The SHEPHERD'S DAY.

[By the Rev. Wm. Fletcher, Master of the Grammar-school, at Woodbridge,

Suffolk.]

Morning beams—the mists retire
Slowly from the mountain's side,
Whilst the busy minstrel choir
Fill with praise creation wide.
Mark the bee with early wing
Murmuring as he roameth by,
Hear the forest's deepness ring
With its wildest harmony.

Now, from lonely cottage gate,
See the shepherd looking high,

Reads the day's uncertain state
In the morn's prophetic sky.
Now with crook, and wallet spare,
Cruise and hat to fence the rain,
See him with his dog prepare
Once again to tread the plain.
Forth from op'ning fold, the flock
Teems to crop the dewy blade;
Whilst his true companion Shock
Tends it o'er the forest glade.
Now the world and all its toys
Seem as bubbles in his sight;
Earth and all her living joys
Are his own, by native right.
Him no lofty thoughts inherit,
Pride nor passion wounds his rest;
But a kind and gentle spirit
Broods within his simple breast.

Such the shepherd's life and pleasures
As he strolls the livelong day;
Till at eve he meets his treasures,
Warmly housed in cot of clay.
There, no mortal more possessing,
Happiness seems his alone;
Whilst his little ones caressing,
As he pours a parent's blessing
On a race he calls his own.

JULY.

THIS month took the name of Quintilis, on account of its being the fifth in the Romulean year; it received that of Julius, in memory of Julius Cæsar, who was born on the 12th of this month. Mark Antony, during his consulate, with the approbation of the Senate, ordered the change. Jupiter was its tutelar deity. On the 6th of this month began the Ludi Apollinares, in honour of Apollo; they continued six days. On the 12th, was the festival of the birth

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