APPENDIX.

BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR.

Note A. The “Coneygar” and “Lodge Farm,” p. 11.

It is one of the pleasing characteristics of an old and highly civilized country, that appropriate local names for the smaller hamlets, farms, and single rural dwellings, are in general and familiar use. Every thing which gives to the household home, whether of rich or poor, a pleasant distinctive character, an additional hold on the memory and the affections of its inmates, must always prove a merit; and many, assuredly, have been the instances in which the familiar name of the family roof has continued through life a hallowed sound to the wanderers of the household band it once sheltered. In England, this custom—so natural, so kindly, when undisturbed by pretension—is very general, and it is almost needless to say that wherever these names go back for half a century or more, they are always appropriate, and often peculiar, or it may be, interesting from historical or other associations. In very many instances, not only do the farm-house and the cottage bear suitable names, but even the different fields about them are all marked in the same way; this meadow, that grain-field, yonder copse, the knoll beyond, shall each be called by some simple term, familiar to the household of the farmer of the present day, as it was perhaps to his forefathers of past generations.

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Note B. The Potato, p. 30.

It has been clearly ascertained that the potato is indigenous to South America. Mr. Darwin, in his “Journal of Researches,” speaking of the Chonos Archipelago, on the coast of Chili, writes as follows:

“The wild potato grows on these islands in great abundance, in the sandy, shelly soil, near the sea beach. The tallest plant was four feet in height. The tubers were generally small, but I found one, of an oval shape, two inches in diameter; they resembled, in every respect, and had the same smell as English potatoes; but when boiled they shrunk much, and were watery and insipid, without any bitter taste. They were undoubtedly indigenous here: they grow as far south, according to Mr. Low, as lat. 50°, and are called Aquinas by the wild Indians of that part; the Chilotan Indians have a different name for them. Professor Henslow, who has examined the dried specimens which I brought home, says they are the same with those described by Mr. Sabine,^[77] from Valparaiso, but that they form a variety, which by some botanists has been considered specifically distinct. It is remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile mountains of central Chili, where a drop of rain does not fall for more than six months, and within the damp forests of these southern islands.” Darwin’s “Journal of Researches,” Vol. II. p. 23, American edition.

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Note C. The Wych elm, (Ulmus Montana,) p. 46.

The following account of the wych elm is given by Mr. Downing in his “Landscape Gardening:”

“The Scotch, or wych elm, (ulmus montana.) This is a tree of lower stature than the common European elm, its average height being about forty feet. The leaves are broad, rough, pointed, and the branches extend more horizontally, drooping at the extremities. The bark on the branches is comparatively smooth. It is a grand tree, ‘the head is so finely massed, and yet so well broken, as to render it one of the noblest of park trees; and where it grows wild amid the rocky scenery of its native Scotland, there is no tree which assumes so great, or so pleasing a variety of character.’ In general appearance the Scotch elm considerably resembles our white elm. Its most ornamental varieties are the spiry-topped elm, (U. m. fastigiata,) with singularly twisted leaves, and a very upright growth; the weeping Scotch elm, (u. m. pendula,) a very remarkable variety, the branches of which droop in a fan-like manner; and the smooth-leaved Scotch elm, (u. m. glabra.)”

Note D. The Carpenter Bee, (Megachile Centuncularis,) p. 53.

The term carpenter bee is now usually confined, in England, to those insects of the bee tribe which chisel out or rasp their nests in posts, or palings, &c. Their cells “consist of a tunnel excavated in the wood, and divided by thin partitions of clay into five or six compartments, each with its supply of pollen for the single inhabitant who is to emerge from the egg deposited therein.”

284The bee referred to by Mr. Knapp, page 53, although inhabiting, at times, a wooden cell also, like the true “carpenter,” is more generally classed with the “upholsterer bees,” or those which line their nests with cuttings from leaves, and flowers. This leaf-cutter bee is thus alluded to in “Acheta Domestica:”

“Having excavated, or found her hole, (a cavity in ground, or wood, or wall, from six to ten inches deep,) she proceeds to construct within it, of the pieces of the leaf she cuts off, several cells, of the shape and about the size of a thimble, which she inserts successively, the bottom of one into the mouth of that below it. It takes from nine to twelve pieces of leaf to complete each cell, and as each is finished she stores it with a rose-colored conserve made chiefly of pollen and honey, collected from the flowers of the thistle. When to this magazine of sweets is superadded the egg from whence its future consumer is to spring, the provident provider of the store covers in the whole with three more pieces of leaf, cut in a circle, as truly accurate as compasses could describe. Room being left above the cover for the insertion of a succeeding cell, our “upholsterer” thus proceeds till her nursery tunnel is completely filled up.”

* * * “The leaves employed by the leaf-cutter, are materials of somewhat stubborn texture, those sometimes of the mountain ash, and birch, as well as the rose, herein enhancing the skill of their employer. It would seem, however, that pliability and thinness are qualities somewhat regarded, and most wonderfully discerned by the little artist in question; for we have noticed in more than one summer, the smooth, delicate, tender leaves of a dark variety of China rose, almost scolloped by the circles and ovals of her excision, while the foliage of the “cabbage” close by, has been left untouched, as if too coarse and common for her purpose.”—Acheta Domestica.

285Reaumur relates that a gardener at Rouen, once chancing to dig up the nest of a leaf-cutter bee, was so utterly amazed with the singular skill of the contrivance that he was terrified, and hastened with it to the priest of the parish, believing it to be nothing less than the work of witchcraft. Monsieur le Curé, it appears, had something of the same suspicions; he advised the man to carry the nest to Paris; the gardener, however, took it first to a distinguished Naturalist living at Rouen, who relieved the poor fellow’s mind by opening one of the cases and showing him the grub within.

We learn that there are several leaf-cutting or upholsterer bees, in the United States, although it is not probable that either is precisely similar to that alluded to by Mr. Knapp, and the author of Acheta Domestica.

Note E. The Rose-Beetle, (Cetonia Aurata,) p. 53.

The Rose-Chafer, or Rose-Beetle, the Cetonia aurata of entomologists, is a beautiful insect, very common in England but unknown in our own country. “On the back of the corslet burnished green and gold are the prevailing hues, on breast-plate, cuisse, and gauntlet the lustre of the precious metal is predominant, mingled with changeable reflections of purplish crimson,” says the writer of Acheta Domestica. “Like the rest of its tribe, this pretty beetle undergoes the usual triple metamorphosis of insect life. From an egg laid within the earth, he emerges a grub or larva, to feed on roots, most usually those of the rose. * * Thus, hermit-like, and upon this hermit’s fare, he lives in dark seclusion for four years, and when these are over, constructs for himself, about the month of March, a still more straitened cell—an earth-formed case, resembling a 286pigeon’s egg. He proceeds, under its cover, to the second stage of pupa—from thence to the third and last estate; and after remaining another fortnight under ground, for his enameled mail to acquire hardness, comes forth in all his splendor to meet the roses. The antennæ are of curious and very elegant formation. They each terminate in a knob composed of several laminæ or plates, opening or shutting like the leaves of a book, and which also like a book, can be put away at the pleasure of their insect owner, on a shelf or deep cavity on either side its head. They are always thus put carefully away when the chafer is inactive, or asleep. It has been noticed as a singular fact that the rose-beetle has been found not unfrequently, while in its two first stages, the tenant of an ant-hill, and that without being attacked by its carnivorous inhabitants. It is hence called, in some countries, “king of the ants;” and it is said also that German cattle dealers invest it with supernatural powers, and feed it carefully in beds as a means of insuring prosperity to their herds and fortunes.”—Acheta Domestica, second series, p. 72, English edition.

The true rose-chafer has not been found among our American beetles.

Note F. Dyer’s Broom, (Genista Tinctoria) p. 58.

There are many species of Broom in the old world. The common Broom of England has large, yellow, butterfly-shaped blossoms, and growing, as it does, in large patches on waste lands, produces a vary brilliant effect when in bloom. But it is also very useful in its way. The twigs were probably the first besoms of the housewives of old, in days when witches were believed to ride on 287broom-sticks to their gatherings; certain it is, at least, that our brooms of the present hour derive their name from the early use of the twigs of the plant for similar purposes.

Cordage, matting, and even coarse cloth have been made of the fibres of the Broom. Houses are sometimes thatched with the twigs, which have been also used for tanning instead of oak bark.

It was a sprig of the Broom or Genet, as it is called in French, worn in the helmet of a count of Anjou, of olden time, which became at length a family badge, and gave the name of Plantagenet to the race of English kings, who for three centuries reigned over our forefathers.

Dyer’s Broom, woad-waxen, genista tinctoria, has become naturalized here and there in some parts of New York and New England.

Note G. The Destruction of Insects by Plants, p. 62.

That singular American plant the sarracenia, pitcher-plant, hunters-cup, or side-saddle flower, as it is variously called, is a striking instance of the peculiarity referred to in the text, by Mr. Knapp. It is well known to all who are familiar with our native plants, that the hollow leaves of the sarracenia are generally found to contain more or less water, with dead insects of various tribes which have been drowned in the liquid. One might have supposed that this was purely accidental, but it is not impossible that the plant may require for its sustenance a certain amount of animal nourishment. The experiment of an English gardener would lead one to believe that such is the case; taking a hint from the drowned flies usually found in the hollow leaves of the pitcher-plant he tried a 288singular experiment; he fed the vegetable on beef-steak, small pieces of the beef being laid within the hollow leaves. The superior beauty and size of the particular plant treated in this way, subsequently proved that the surmise was correct, and that the pitcher-plant is to a certain degree, carnivorous. Such may very possibly be the case with other flowers which are known to entrap insects of different kinds; they may need these as nourishment. Generally speaking, it is the blossom and not, as in the instance of the Sarracenia, the leaf which allures the insect and thus destroys it; in this sense the hunter’s-cup is more ogre-like than most of its companions possessing the same dangerous power, since it is not only during the season of flowering, but throughout the summer that unwary flies and gnats are drowned in its leafy reservoirs.

Note H. The Ivy, (Hedera Helix,) p. 64.

The Ivy is found throughout most of the countries of Europe, and also in parts of Asia and Africa. It was one of the sacred plants of the old Egyptians, and held the same character among the Greeks also. In our own western hemisphere the Ivy was unknown until introduced by the colonists from Europe; nor does it seem likely ever to become, like so many other contributions of the old countries, naturalized here; our dryer summers or colder winters, do not apparently agree with it. Possessing one qualification rare among climbing plants, that of being an evergreen, it may, on this account, be considered as the finest of the purely ornamental vines of temperate regions. It is believed to live to a very great age, as the 289parent stems of vines still attached to buildings some centuries old, are found nearly as large as the trunks of good-sized forest trees.

Note I. The Snowdrop, page 70.

Mr. Knapp tells us in the text, that in England the Snowdrop will linger longer than any other plant on the site of a deserted garden, outlasting, in this way, as a memorial of human tillage even the rose-bush, the plumb-tree, or the daffodil. With us the pansy, heart’s-ease, or garden-violet appears to have something of the same character; we have found it opening its pretty, lowly blossoms among the grass, the only vestige of a flower-garden, ploughed up more than thirty years earlier.

Note J. The Vervain, page 71.

We have in the United States several native Vervains, and one species of European origin; the nettle-leaved Vervain, Verbena urticifolia, has become one of our road-side weeds. We are told that verbena was a Latin name given to any sacred herb, and by no means confined to the single family of plants to which the term Vervain is now applied.

Note K. The Mistletoe, page 71.

The Mistletoe has been sometimes asserted to be unknown in America; but this is an error. The yellow Mistletoe, Viscum flaviscens, is found on the trunks of old 290forest trees, the elm, the oak, and the hickory, in the middle, western, and southern states of the union. This singular parasitic plant has yellowish leaves, with white berries tinged with the same color. See Gray’s Botany.

Note L. Dyer’s Weed, Wold, (Luteola reseda,) p. 72.

Dyer’s Weed, Weld, Wold, Luteola reseda, has become partially naturalized, here and there, in western New York. It is a plant about three feet high, from whose leaf and stem a yellow coloring matter is obtained, which is preferred to all other substances for giving a brilliant greenish-lemon tint. It is also much used for dyeing silk a golden yellow.

The reader is probably aware that while many minerals and a certain number of animal substances are employed in coloring, the largest portion of our dyes are borrowed from the vegetable kingdom.

Note M. Sulphur, or Brimstone Butterfly, (Gonepteryx Rhamni,) p. 74.

“This is the Brimstone Butterfly, which, gaily painted,

“Soon

Explores the tepid noon,

And fondly trusts its tender dyes

To feeble suns and flattering skies.”

“It has been supposed by some that this early visitant, (also a late one,) is, like the above, a winter survivor; but from the trim of his yellow robes, usually so fresh and glossy, it would seem more likely that, instead of being laid up—not in lavender, but perhaps in ivy—they are of the newest spring fashion. Be this as it may, he is the 291very pink, or, as he has been more properly considered, the very primrose of Papillons, sometimes to be seen like a living shadow of the primrose’s self, fluttering beside it in the sunny hedge-row, or the sheltered copse. We may know him by the cut of his bright, sulphur-colored pinions—each, instead of being rounded, ending in a smooth tail-like angle.

“Of all the wings of the butterflies, these bear perhaps the closest similitude to floral productions, and on each, as if to perfect the resemblance of the delicate, flower-like coloring, is a reddish spot, an exact copy of that often produced by decay or accident on the surface of a yellow petal. In the beautiful raised bearing of their reverse, the pinions of the “Brimstone” are no less correspondent with the same; but those of the female, which, instead of yellow, are of a greenish white, resemble perhaps yet more nearly, the leaf of a poplar on its under side. The dye of the antennæ—that purplish pink so frequent upon tender leaf and flower-stems—also the clothing of the body, a soft satin down like that by which stalks and seed pods are so often covered, are all alike accordant with the floral character of this most elegant flutterer of the spring. This pretty butterfly comes of a pretty caterpillar, with a smooth green coat, dotted or shagreened with black, and marked by a whitish line along the back and sides. It is said to feed usually on the leaves of the hawthorn and alder.”—Acheta Domestica.

Note N. Furze, (Ulex Europæus,) p. 77.

The Furze, Gorse or Whin, is a low, shrubby plant, common in barren soils throughout western Europe, and belonging to the natural order leguminosæ. The yellow 292flowers, covering broad tracts of untilled land, produce a brilliant and striking effect when in bloom. It is said that Linnæus, when he first saw them, fell on his knees with expressions of delight at their beauty, lamenting that the plant should be wanting in Sweden. It is occasionally cultivated in poor soils for fodder, as horses are fond of it, and the cattle are also fed with it in some parts of England, after it has been bruised in a sort of mill. In tracts of country where wood is scarce, it is frequently used by the cottagers for fuel. The pods of the Whin, or Furze, when ripe burst open with a loud crackling sound, which is described as pleasing, of a warm summer’s day. We Americans have no other acquaintance with the Furze than what is derived from books and prints.

Note O. The Maple, (Acer campestre,) p. 79.

The common English Maple, Acer campestre, is wholly different from our own various species. It is a tree found throughout the greater part of Europe south of Scotland and Sweden, and is observed as far east as the Caucasus. In England, however, it is little more than a bush, or small tree of no great beauty, and whose wood is chiefly used for turning cups and bowls, such as hermits used in days when ballads were written about them. Its leaves are heart-shaped, with either two or five segments which are not serrated; its flowers are erect, in branching corymbs.

In the southern Caucasus this maple is said to become a fine tree, the wood being in request for its hardness; and it is used for purposes less peaceful than the hermits bowl, being worked up into gun-stocks.

The Sycamore-maple, Acer pseudo-platanus, is a very different tree, of noble growth, indigenous to southern 293Europe. This has been transplanted to England where it is much cultivated, and has been called the Sycamore from an erroneous notion that it is the same as the Sycamore of the east. Neither of these Maples will compare, for autumnal coloring, with those of our American woods. The true English Maple alluded to in the text, is described as “shifting its dress to ochery shades, then trying a deeper tint, and lastly assuming an orange vest.” This is pale indeed compared with the Rubens-like coloring of our native trees of the same family.

The Maples are a very numerous and widely diffused tribe of trees. No less than thirty-four species are enumerated by botanists, belonging to different parts of the earth.

Note P. Agarics, page 85.

Scientific writers have examined no less than a thousand different species of Agarics, or those fungi belonging to the class of mushrooms, and probably there are many more than have yet been enumerated. Some few only of these plants are edible; a large proportion are highly poisonous to man, while the character of many more have never yet been ascertained. It is particularly remarkable that those which are found wholesome in one country often become very dangerous in a different soil; in England, for instance, only three kinds are eaten, the Agaricus campestris, or common mushroom, the A. pratensis, or fairy-ring mushroom, and the A. Georgii; but in southern Europe many more are used as food, and among these a number of the same species which in Great Britain have proved very dangerous. In Kamschatka again, the Agaricus muscarius, considered a deadly poison in 294England, is found quite harmless, and is regularly used as food.

The following directions have been given in avoiding poisonous mushrooms; all those possessing either of the characteristics mentioned being dangerous:

1. Such as have a cap very thin compared with the gills.

2. Such as have the stalk growing from one side of the cap.

3. Those in which the gills are of equal length.

4. Such as have a milky juice.

5. Those that readily produce a dark, watery liquid.

6. All those that have a thin, web-like substance wound about the superior portion, or collar of the stalk.

As yet little has been printed regarding our American Agarics, while those of Europe have been very closely studied by many scientific men, who have published the result of their investigations. The following is a list of those mentioned by Mr. Knapp in the volume before the reader: agaricus fimiputris; a. æruginosus; a. odorus; a. fragrans; a. varius; a. oreades; a. georgii or arvensis; a. surrectus; a. caseus, (or infundibuliformis;) a. campestrus; a. pratensis; a. muscarius; hydnum floriforme, or h. compactum; helvella mitra, (or h. crispa;) lycoperdon cinereum, or didynium cinereum; l. fornicatum, or geaster fornicatus; l. stellatum, or g. hygrometicus; morchella esculenta; phallus impudicus; clavaria hypoxylon.

These Agarics are all found in the United States, with the exception of two species, a. varius, and a. surrectus, considered as yet unrecognized. A. georgii, is regarded as a variety only of a. arvensis.

The esculent morell, morchella esculenta, noted by Mr. Knapp as very rare in his own neighborhood, is widely diffused throughout the United States. In some parts of 295the state of New York it is prized as a delicacy for the table, and in the old orchards of Westchester county, for instance, is by no means uncommon.

Note Q. The Marten, (Mustela Martes,) p. 95.

The American Sable, or Pine Marten, Mustela Martes, is believed by some Naturalists to differ decidedly from that of Europe. It is a very active, nocturnal animal, twenty or thirty inches in length, and found in old forests between forty and sixty-eight degrees of north latitude. Trees are exclusively the homes of these pretty little creatures, which are so perseveringly hunted for their beautiful furs. Their skins are sold for one or two dollars apiece, according to their condition, color, &c. As the Martens have litters of six or eight young at a time, they would probably be almost as common in our woods as squirrels, if it were not for the value man has attached to their fur.

Note R. The Hedgehog, (Erinaceus Europæus,) p. 96.

This is a little animal very common indeed in England, and found in all parts of Europe, excepting the extreme northern countries, Norway, Lapland, &c. It is about nine or ten inches in length; the entire back, and part of the head are covered with sharp brown spines which form its sure defence against many enemies, for when surprised, or attacked, the little creature has the power of rolling itself up into a spiny ball, head, legs, and tail being completely concealed. In order to enable it to take this shape, it has cutaneous muscles of a peculiar 296mechanism, and the skin of the back is also capable of being drawn up like a hood, or pouch, covering the head and limbs. There is apparently no effort connected with this change of shape, for the little creature will roll itself up in the twinkling of an eye, and frequently, when desirous of descending a wall or abrupt bank, it will run to the edge, and without hesitation, turn itself into a ball and throw itself off, trusting entirely to the strength and elasticity of its spines, for protection in the fall.

The Hedgehog feeds chiefly upon insects, although it also eats fruits and eggs, and will even attack frogs and snakes. These little animals sleep away the winter, and do not awake until the warm weather has fairly set in.

The ignorant are ever making sad mistakes between their true friends and their enemies, and the poor little hedgehog, which is rather serviceable to man than otherwise, by devouring noxious insects, has long been cruelly persecuted by the peasantry of Europe. It has been accused of draining the udders of cows as they lie in the meadows at night, and otherwise injuring them; “all urchin blasts and ill-luck signs,” says the spirit in Cosmos, the urchin being another name for the hedgehog, which, in fact, if it creeps about the cattle, is only in pursuit of the flies that annoy them.

The Porcupine is sometimes called the hedgehog, but very erroneously, being a larger animal, of very different habits, and belonging to a different order.

The nest of the hedgehog is said to be very skillfully prepared, and the female is a particularly watchful mother. A touching incident is related which proves the strength of maternal instinct in these creatures; a nest of small hedgehogs lay in a garden, whence every evening the mother passed by a gate into an adjoining copse in search of food for her young. On one occasion the gate was 297accidentally closed at an earlier hour than usual, and the poor creature so exhausted herself with fruitless anxiety, and efforts to reach her little ones, that she died before morning, and was found lying lifeless close to the gate.

The flesh of the hedgehog is still eaten in some parts of Europe; it is roasted or baked in pies. In olden times not only the spines of this animal were used medicinally, but wise practitioners declared that “oil in which one of its eyes has been fried, if kept in a brass vessel, will endow the human eye with the faculty of seeing as well by night, as in the day.”

Note S. The Shrew, page 104.

These little creatures, resembling mice in their general appearance, are yet entirely distinct from them, as the cat is well aware, if many human beings are not. Puss has never been known to eat a shrew. In Europe these singular little animals are very common in the fields, and about old walls, heaps of stone, &c. They feed on insects, worms, &c., while the true mice are not insectivorous, but are classed with the rodent order.

Note T. The Mole, (talpa Europea) p. 104.

This animal, so very common in most countries of Europe, is said to have no existence in America. It is at least still a subject of dispute among naturalists whether the true mole of Europe be found on this continent or not.

This creature, with whose name, at least, we are all familiar, has been supposed to be blind; but the notion 298is erroneous. Eyes are not wanting in the mole, but they are small, buried in the fur, and by a peculiar muscular contrivance they can be pushed forward, or drawn within, so as to be protected from particles of earth. The hearing of the mole is particularly acute, although it has no external shell to the ear. Its sense of smell is also particularly good. It feeds chiefly upon earth-worms, but also eats mice, rats, frogs, lizards, and its appetite is voracious. The subterranean domains of these creatures are extensive and various in their character, their runs, or galleries, being generally about five or six inches below the surface, though often reaching to thrice that depth. They are nocturnal, like so many of the creatures which people the earth; and they are as active in winter as in summer.

The mole is not found in Ireland, or in the northern parts of Scotland. In America, if the true mole be actually wanting, we have other little creatures of the same family, common throughout the country. These are the shrew-moles. They differ widely, however, from the moles of Europe, although possessing the same burrowing habits. The common shrew-mole of America, Scalops Aquaticus, is about six inches in length, with a tail one inch long.

Another of this family is a very singular little creature and peculiar to North America. This is the Star-nose, Condylura Cristata, sometimes called the Button-nose mole by our farmers. It is common as far south as Virginia, is nocturnal in its habits, and partial to the banks of streams. It is rather larger than the common shrew-mole.

299

Note U. Birds of England, page 109.

There are in Europe, some four hundred and sixty-two birds, and in Great Britain three hundred and ten species. In the state of New York alone, we have, according to Dr. De Kay, three hundred and seven species. Mr. Knapp mentions upward of sixty of the English species, and of these only three are generally admitted, we believe, to be common to both continents—the great butcher-bird, lanius excubiter, the petrel, and the guillemot, the two last being sea-birds. The tree-creepers, the goldcrests, the ravens, and the magpies, however, are considered very closely similar. We give the names of the birds mentioned by Mr. Knapp. The rook; hedge-sparrow; willow wren; cirl bunting; goldcrest; linnet, or great red-poll; bull-finch; robin; chaffinch; tom-tit; large tom-tit; colemouse; long-tailed tit; house-sparrow; wood-pigeon; jay; goldfinch; whitethroat; blackcap; green-finch; gray flycatcher; house-marten; raven; jackdaw; rock-pigeon; magpie; butcher-bird; petrel; wryneck; swan; nightingale; starling; red-start; solitary thrush; missel-thrush; sparrow-hawk; kestrel; yellow-hammer; swallow; thrush or throstle; wheatear; guillemot; kite; pettychaps; wren; blackbird; cuckoo; lark; tree-creeper; yellow wagtail; halcyon; wood-pigeon; black grous or heath cock; red grous or moor fowl; bustard; fieldfare; crossbill; bunting; gray wagtail; swift; goat-sucker; jacksnipe; common snipe; peewit or lapwing: redwing; wood lark.

The limits allotted to us, not permitting many details on this subject, we shall merely notice briefly some few of these birds, selecting those which are most likely to interest the reader:

The Rook, corvus frugilegus.—“Every body knows the 300rook; the dark, the noisy, and sometimes the nest-plundering, or, in the early fields, the contribution-levying rook; but still, notwithstanding, the cheerful, the orderly, the industrious, the discreet, the beneficent rook.” Such is Mr. Mudie’s character of this species of crow, unknown in America. It measures nineteen inches in length; and has a fine plumage of glossy black. Its partiality to old groves and ruins, near country-houses, must be well known to the reader; the “rookeries” of England, however, are said to be decidedly diminishing in their numbers. Many tales are also told of the kindness of rooks to the orphan broods and widowed birds of their flocks; but these have not been very clearly settled.

The Linnet, fr. linota.—The name of this common European bird is derived from its fondness for linseed. It is a charming singer, its song consisting of “many irregular notes, tastefully put together, in a clear, sonorous tone.” Its general plumage is brown, varied with gray and reddish black; but in the spring, the forehead and breast of the male bird are of a brilliant red coloring, whence one of its names as the greater red-poll. It is said to resemble our purple finch, which is also called the American linnet. Not found in the western hemisphere.

The Bull-finch, loxia pyrrhula.—A short, thick bird, whose general color is a dark, ashy gray, with carminecolored breast, and white rump. It is a fine singer, readily catching airs and melodies by ear. Like the linnet, it is a very favorite cage-bird in Europe. In its native woods it is a shy creature, partial to shady groves, and seen less frequently than many of its companions, though one of the common birds of Europe. In America, this species of bull-finch is unknown.

The House-sparrow, pyrgita domestica.—The sparrows of Europe differ essentially from those of America. They 301have no song, and are seldom seen in flocks. The plumage of the house-sparrow is gray; it frequently builds in the thatched roof of the English cottage, under eaves also, and in chinks in walls. These birds are useful in devouring house-flies; they also feed on some species of butterflies, more especially those whose caterpillars injure the cabbages so frequently, and one writer considers it doubtful if cabbages could be raised at all in England if it were not for the house-sparrow. In Persia, these birds, it is said, are trained to chase butterflies, as a royal sport, just as the hawk was taught to pursue the heron in olden times. The bird is unknown in America.

The Jay, garrulus glandarius.—Wholly different from our American jays, and much less beautiful in plumage, the jays of Europe do not flock together. They are great chatterers, however, and great mimics also. The color of the European bird is a dark, purplish brown, with blue on the forehead and wings.

The Wood-dove, columba palumbus.—This is the largest and the handsomest of the British pigeons. It is better known perhaps to the reader, as the ring-dove, and cushat; it is a general favorite in England.

The Kestrel, falco tinunculus.—One of the smaller falcons of Europe; of reddish brown and cream-colored plumage, marked with dusky spots. Its eye is peculiarly brilliant. It is popularly called “stannel” and “windhover,” the first word meaning “stand-gale,” the last, “hoverer in the wind,” from its remarkable power of poising itself over a particular spot in spite of high winds; at such moments the play of its wings is exceedingly rapid.

The House-marten, hirundo urbica.—With one exception, the bank swallow, hirundo riparia, the swallows of Europe and America are wholly different. The house-marten of 302England builds very frequently about windows; it is a small bird, black and white in its plumage. Its nest is often covered with a dome, the entrance being at the side, and it is a sort of house, large enough for both birds.

The Rock-pigeon, columba livia.—This is the stock whence come our domestic pigeons, in their wild state they build in clefts or holes in cliffs, and perch on the ledges and projections. They are never known to perch on trees. Indeed, it is said that the rustling of the wind among the foliage and branches, is annoying and unpleasant to these doves. They are gregarious, and especially partial to cliffs on the sea-shore. They are not found in a wild state in America.

The Magpie, corvus pica.—Is a common bird in England, about the size of a pigeon, with a plumage of variegated black and white. Its reputation for mimicry and for thievish habits, must be well known to the reader, although on this continent, especially east of the Mississippi, it is rare. In England it is considered a bird of ill-omen when seen alone, but the reverse when collecting in a merry company and an even number. The magpies of both continents are very similar.

The Wryneck, yunx torquilla.—This is a handsome migratory bird something like a woodpecker in form, and of a yellowish brown and black plumage, mottled with arrow-shaped black spots. It derives its name from a strange trick of lengthening its neck, and twisting its head. Unknown in America.

The Jackdaw.—Is a bird of the crow tribe; lively, noisy, and familiar. It is about fourteen inches long, and of a black and gray plumage.

The Thrush, Throstle, or Mavis, turdus musicus.—A very common bird in England, and a very sweet singer. The plumage is brown above, cream-color below, marked 303with triangular, dusky spots. Its length is about nine inches. They feed especially on the land-snails, so common in the old world. Unknown in America.

The Missel-thrush, turdus viscivorus.—This is the largest of the English thrushes, nearly a foot in length. Its plumage is gray and white. It derives its name from its marked partiality to the leaves of the misletoe, with the slimy juice of which, it soils, or missels, its feet. The plant again takes its name apparently from the missled toes of this thrush.

The Blackbird, turdus merula.—This is another of the English thrushes, and a great singer. It is entirely black in its plumage, shy, and solitary in its habits, differing entirely, as the reader will observe, from our American blackbirds, which are allied to the crows.

The Cuckoo, cuculus cauvus.—This bird, extremely common in England, has a grayish plumage varied with black and white. Mr. Mudie seems to doubt the assertion usually made that they never build nests of their own. In the northern states we have two cuckoos, very different in their appearance and habits from those of Europe, nor are they very common birds in this country.

The Wren, troglodytes urbica.—The winter wren of America is said to resemble the common wren of Europe, more than any other of our species. In England, this little bird is a great favorite, and is familiarly called Kitty Wren.

The Halcyon, alcedo ispida.—This is the kingfisher of Europe. It is a bird of much more brilliant plumage than our American kingfisher, almost as gaudy indeed as a parrot in its tints of red, blue, and green. The term “halcyon days,” is attributed to the transparent, calm weather, in which the kingfisher delights to skim over the glassy water, looking out for his prey.

304The Wagtails, motacilla.—These birds derive their name from the incessant, rapid motion of their tails; they are resident birds in England, frequenting the banks of streams and pools. There are several species; the pied, the gray, and the yellow wagtails. They run with great rapidity, and take wing with peculiar ease. Their conformation renders the movement of the tail necessary as a counterpoise, which is the cause of its constant play.

The Swift, cypselus apus.—This is the largest of the swallow tribe in Europe, and probably the strongest winged of all British birds. It lives in the air, building on the highest towers, and spires of churches and other edifices, or upon rocky pinnacles. The swifts are distinguished from the swallows by the shortness of their legs, unfitted for walking, and by the formation of their toes. Our American chimney swallow approaches very nearly to the swift of England in many particulars, though different in others.

The Goat-sucker, caprimulgus Europeus.—This is the fern owl, nightjar, or night-hawk, a bird, as an English writer has observed, particularly ill-named, its last title only being consistent with its character. When hawking for bats it flies within a few feet of the ground, but when in pursuit of moths it glides round and round the trunk of some tree, the haunt of its prey, with great perseverance. The term goat-sucker is derived from a strange notion very prevalent in olden times that this bird was in the habit of taking the milk of the goat for its own use. Our American night-hawk differs in some particulars from that of Europe.

The Bustard, otis tarda.—This is a large bird of the cursores or running tribe, four feet in length, and nine in breadth, weighing as much as thirty pounds in some instances. The plumage is reddish orange, spotted and 305barred with black, with the more conspicuous wing and tail feathers, brown and black. Under the neck there is a sort of skin pouch, capable of containing half a gallon. The flesh is much prized. The bustard is now a very rare bird in England, but in France they are less uncommon. They will probably soon become extinct in Great Britain, like the wood-grous, which, within the last eighty years, has disappeared from that country.

The Grous, tetrao.—There were, until recently, three well known species of grous in Great Britain. 1st. The Black Grous or heath cock, a bird of wholly black plumage, found in the heathy districts of the three kingdoms. 2d. The Red Grous, or moor fowl, very abundant in the Scotch moors, and found in no other part of Europe, being the only bird peculiar to Britain. 3d. The Wood-Grous, formerly by no means uncommon, but which has recently become quite extinct in Great Britain, although it is still found on the continent of Europe.

The Titmouse, parus.—The titmice are dispersed more or less over the whole world, excepting some portions of the southern hemisphere, as South America, and New Holland. In England, they have seven or eight different species: the great tit, p. major; colemouse, p. ater; marshtit, p. palustris; long-tailed tit, p. caudatus; blue tit, p. cæruleus; bearded tit, p. biarmicus; crested tit, p. cristatus. In the United States, we have three species: the common chicadee, p. atricapillus; the caroline titmouse, p. carolinensis; and the crested titmouse, p. bicolor. This last is found in Europe also, but in England it is very rare. All three species belong to the birds of New York.

The Nightingale, corruca luscinia.—The far-famed nightingale is a bird of a dusky brown, and gray plumage, about seven inches in length, being the largest of the warblers found in England. It is in one sense a shy bird, 306difficult to watch, heard more frequently than it is seen in the shady groves. The song of the nightingale has been described by one writer as “the most spirit-stirring and gleesome in nature.” The clearness of their note is said to vary much with the climate, or rather atmosphere, they chance to haunt, and as a general rule those that belong to more southern countries sing more sweetly than their brethren to the northward. The nightingales of Greece and Italy are thought to be much more exquisitely musical than those of the northern countries of Europe. In England, they only frequent particular counties, avoiding the northern and western districts; and it has been said that they have an especial partiality to those parts of the island where cowslips are most abundant.

The Starling, sturnus vulgaris.—This is a bird of the crow tribe, unknown in America. It is eight or nine inches in length, of a plumage whose general coloring is black, marked throughout, however, with triangular starlike spots of white, or cream-color, whence the name of starling. They are social, harmless birds; active, and chattering creatures, and excellent mimics.

The Fieldfare, turdus pilaris, is another bird unknown in America. It is one of the northern thrushes, visiting England in flocks, during the cold season. It is a large, meadow bird, with a grayish chestnut back, the breast and sides of a rufous yellow. The fieldfares feed on seeds, and on insects also, and are themselves considered a dainty morsel by the human epicure, the ancient Romans fattening them, it is said, on a paste made of figs and flour. They have no song, but utter a singular cry when flying.

The Raven, corvus corax.—The raven of Europe differs in some respects from that of America. In Great Britain it is not an uncommon bird. It is said if a man in England, at any moment, throw himself on the ground, in the 307fields, more especially if he lie motionless on his back in the position of a lifeless body, a raven will be found to draw near, and reconnoitre, though unseen a moment before. This fact would seem to confirm the opinions doubted by Mr. Knapp—that sight, and not smell, is the sense by which these birds are guided in descending on their prey, since the mere motionless feigning of death is sufficient to attract their attention. It is well known that Mr. Audubon held this opinion, confirming it by experiments with the American turkey-buzzards, which proved quite inattentive to carrion of the most offensive kind when placed immediately before them, so long as it was concealed from their sight by a cloth. Dr. James Johnson and other writers on the subject also doubt the sense of smell in birds of this habit, and other experiments like that of Mr. Audubon have had the same result.

Owing to the greater care bestowed on the health of cattle at the present day, and their less frequent deaths in the field under the modern system, ravens are said to be sensibly diminishing in England.

Note V. The House Fly, (musca carnaria,) p. 151.

The speed of these familiar insects when on the wing, is very remarkable, being computed at a third of a mile in a minute. The peculiarity of their walking, apparently against the laws of gravitation, with such perfect ease, has been the subject of much investigation and controversy. Formerly it was believed that the fly walked by means of organs called suckers, which produced a vacuum at the extremity of each foot, by exhausting the air. Some lizards are known to climb walls in this way. But it is now more generally believed that the firm hold of 308the house fly is more simple, provided by fine, hairy appendages to the feet, by which they cling to the most minute inequalities of our walls and windows.

Flies feed chiefly on liquids, and the juice of solid substances; they are also enabled to dissolve certain solids, by means of a saliva, which they eject for the purpose, on sugar, &c. The familiar sound produced by flies, comes from their wings; but as many winged insects move silently, the air must act upon those of the fly in a peculiar manner.

Note W. The Robin, page 164.

The two birds bearing, in England and America, the same name of Robin redbreast, are in most respects very different. The English robin, motacilla rubecola, is much the smaller of the two, is stationary throughout the year, loses his red jacket in autumn, is little noticed for its song in spring, but sings more or less even in winter; and, very possibly, while gathering the autumn leaves over the “babes in the wood,” sang their dirge with the pleasing note so often alluded to, by English writers, as one of the charms of the season:

“But now with treble oft,

“The redbreast whistles from some garden croft,

“And gathering swallows twitter in the air.

Our American robin is a portly thrush, turdus migratorius, wandering far and wide as soon as the cold weather sets in; it is one of our most chatty, loquacious birds in spring, his voice being heard morning and evening throughout April and May, above the notes of most of his feathered neighbors, but he becomes silent and taciturn toward autumn. In one sense, he deserves the name 309of redbreast in preference to the English bird, since his colors never change; and, should some mute straggler appear in the leafless groves of January or February, as occasionally happens as far north as the Mohawk, his jacket will be found still warmly dyed in red. In several particulars, however, the two birds resemble each other; both are partial to the neighborhood of man; both have the reputation of being somewhat pugnacious in temper as regards their fellows, and both are remarkable for their fine, large eyes. At page 164, the author alludes to this peculiarity of the English robin, and the reader will observe the size of the same feature in our American bird.

Note X. The Goldfinch, (fringilla carduelis) p. 167.

The goldfinch of Europe, is in some respects very like our own. “So much does the song of our goldfinch resemble that of the European species,” says Mr. Audubon, “that while in France and England, I have frequently thought, and with pleasure thought, that they were the notes of our own bird which I had heard.” The flight of both, in deep, curved lines, alternately rising and falling, their manner of gathering in flocks, their way of feeding, are also similar.

The goldfinch of Europe has a very varied plumage; in some parts of England, it is called the “Sheriff’s man,” from its gay livery, and also the “Seven Colored Linnet,” from the varied tints of scarlet, black, white, gray, brown, and gold color blended in its markings. It is widely diffused throughout Europe, where it is a favorite cage-bird. The docility of these finches, and their quickness at learning tricks, are remarkable; at an exhibition in London, 310some half a dozen birds,—all of the finch tribe—appeared standing on their heads, playing at sentinel, mounting guard, imitating milkmaids going to market with tiny pails on their shoulders, acting as cannoniers, armed cap-a-pie, firelock on the shoulder, match in the claw, actually discharging a small cannon!

Note Y. The Sky-lark, (alanda arvensis) p. 184.

“It is, in fact, more joyous in the sun, more inspirable by the life which the solar influence diffuses through the atmosphere, than almost any other creature: not a spring air can sport, not a breeze of morn can play, not an exhalation of freshness from opening bud or softening clod can ascend, without note of it being taken and proclaimed by this all-sufficient index to the progress of nature. The lark rises not like most birds, which climb the air upon one slope, by succession of leaps, as if a heavy body was raised by a succession of efforts, or steps, with pauses between; it towers upward like a vapor, borne lightly in the atmosphere, and yielding to the motion of that as vapors do. Its course is a spiral, gradually enlarging, * * * The accordance of the song with the mode of ascent and descent is also worthy of note. It gives a swelling song as it ascends, and a sinking one when it comes down; and even if it take but one wheel in the air, as that wheel always includes either an ascent or a descent, it varies the pitch of the song.”

“Every one in the least conversant with the structure of birds, must be aware that with them, the organs of intonation and modulation are inward, deriving little assistance from the tongue, and none, or next to none, from the mandibles of the bill. The windpipe is the 311musical organ, and it is often very curiously formed. Birds require that organ less for breathing than any other animals, because of the air-cells, and breathingtubes with which all parts of their body (even their bones) are furnished. But those diffused breathing organs must act with less freedom when the bird is making the greatest efforts in motion, that is, when ascending or descending, and in proportion as these cease to act the trachea is more required for the purpose of breathing. The sky-lark thus converts the atmosphere into a musical instrument of many stops, and so produces an exceedingly wild, and varied song—a song which is perhaps not equal either in power or compass, in the single stave, to that of many of the warblers, but one which is more varied in the whole succession.”

“Every body knows the sky-lark,” continues Mr. Mudie, but the American reader may like to be reminded that this celebrated bird is about seven inches long, with a brown plumage, tinged with reddish, yellowish, and dusky shading in places. These larks are abundant in Europe. They are brought to market in great numbers. In England, they are sold for the table at about a dollar the dozen. It is said that at Leipsic in Germany, a duty of twelve thousand crowns per annum was raised on the larks eaten in that city, at the rate of about five cents for every sixty larks, and if the English crown be meant this would give the number of birds eaten in the town at the incredible amount of nearly four millions.

They have a legend in Ireland, that the larks of the wild valley of Glandalough never sing, “having been miraculously silenced by St. Theresa, during the building of the Seven Churches, because they broke the morning sleep of the wearied masons, by their loud native warblings.”

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Note Z. The Winter Gnat, (tipula hiemalis) p. 189.

Gnats are rarely indeed seen in our colder climate in winter, but in England they are common, often dancing gaily over the snow and ice of mid-winter. There are said to be no less than thirty species of gnats found in Great Britain, and they are all aquatic in their origin. The female launches her eggs on the water, in the form of a diminutive boat composed of two or three hundred eggs, each of which taken separately is heavy enough to sink, but so cleverly are they arranged in their skiff-like form, that when thus glued together, they not only float buoyantly, but it is next to impossible either to upset or sink them permanently. The grub or larva issues from the egg head downward, breathing through the tail. The second or pupa stage of existence is also passed in the water, whence it rises at length the winged insect with which we are familiar. Our musquitoes are members of the same culex family, and resemble very closely the winter gnat of England. The English gnats however are quite harmless, with the exception of an occasional bite from the females of the tribe.

Note AA. Butterflies and Moths, page 192.

Mr. Knapp mentions in his journal the following butterflies and moths: The sulphur or brimstone, gonepteryx rhamni, (see Note M;) ghost moth, hepialus humuli; blue argus, papilio argus; painted lady, papilio cardui; marble butterfly, p. galathea; humming bird hawk-moth, sphinx stellatarum; brown meadow butterfly, p. janira; the 313admirable vanessa atalanta; peacock, vanessa Io; gamma moth, phalæna gamma; goat moth, ph. cossus; blue argus butterfly, papilio argiolus.

This beautiful and highly interesting family of insects, with which we are all familiar by sight at least, has been thus far less studied in America, than in other countries. Very little has yet been printed among us regarding our native butterflies, and even European works on these subjects are rarely met with. It has long been the writer’s wish to become better acquainted with these interesting little creatures, and, doubtless, there are others who have the same inclination; but few of us have the good luck to meet with the necessary books and teachers. A few facts relating to the butterflies alluded to by Mr. Knapp, will be found below.

The Ghost Moth, hepialus humuli, p. 198.—There is a division of moths in England, called swifts, or ghost moths, having all the same habit of flight described by Mr. Knapp, as the origin of their name of “Ghosts.” The particular moth alluded to by the author, is very common in England; their white, satiny wings are easily seen in the twilight, and as fragments of these are frequently found in the morning scattered about, it is supposed that night-hawks and owls feed much on their bodies. The female lays a number of small, black eggs, resembling gunpowder. Mr. Gosse, in his “Canadian Naturalist,” mentions a moth or Bombyx, found in Canada, the Dragon Moth, hepialus argenteomaculatus, belonging to the same family; “I was surprised and pleased to observe the striking similarity, not only of shape and general appearance, but also of manners, to the English species of that family. They continue in one place, dancing from side to side on the wing, just over the herbage, within a space of a yard or two. A large female I caught, on being 314pinned, began to eject her small, white eggs with great rapidity, driving them to a considerable distance.”

The same moth is found in Massachusetts, and doubtless in other parts of the United States; it is included in Prof. Hitchcock’s “Catalogue of the Animals and Plants of Massachusetts,” p. 72.

Painted Lady, cynthia cardui.—This insect ranks with the largest and most beautiful of European butterflies, and is one of the few creatures of its race very widely diffused over the world, being found alike, it is said, in the western and eastern, the northern and the southern hemispheres. In North America they are more common than in England, where they are rather rare. They have been found in China and Western Asia, as well as in Africa, and travelers declare that they are to be met with in Otaheite and Australia. These pretty creatures are indeed great rovers; they will frequently, when on the coast, sail out straight to sea, and are usually very bold in their flight, which is higher than that of other species.

One of the most singular incidents on record, connected with entomology, is related of this species of butterfly. A migration of these insects occurred some years since in Switzerland, on the Lake of Neufchatel during the month of March; they flew with great rapidity from north to south, moving in a column from ten to fifteen feet in breadth, in compact order, and continued passing in this manner for upward of two hours. Although many flowers yielding honey were in bloom at the time, not a butterfly alighted, but all continued their strange flight. Other instances of the same kind have been noticed in Europe and South America, but we do not remember to have ever seen any allusion to migrations of this kind, among our native butterflies.

The caterpillar of the Painted Lady feeds on the spear 315thistle, whose thick leaves it nevertheless succeeds in rolling up as a cover for its chrysalis.

The Gamma Moth, noctua gamma, derives its name from having on its primary wings, a figure stamped in gold, precisely similar to that letter of the Greek alphabet. In England it is very common. In some countries of Europe this moth in its caterpillar stage of existence, has been a scourge to the vegetation. In 1735 these insects increased so rapidly in France, that they excited serious fears of famine by their ravages in the fields and gardens. The roads were covered with them traveling from one field to another. In the kitchen gardens, they left nothing but the stalks of the plants. Mr. Reaumur calculated that a single pair of these moths might produce in one season eighty thousand caterpillars!

Mr. Gosse found the gamma moth in Canada: “I have obtained several new species of noctua, among which is the dusia gamma so common in England.”

The Blue Argus, polyommatus argiolus.—This pretty little blue butterfly is found also in America; it is mentioned by Mr. Gosse, who saw it in Canada, and is included among the insects of Massachusetts also, and doubtless it belongs to other parts of the United States. Its caterpillar feeds on the buckthorn and on the holly.

The Goat Moth, cossus ligniperda.—“The great goat moth, while yet a caterpillar, occupies in solitary darkness the trunk of willow, oak, or poplar. For three successive summers it is employed in eating into the solid wooden barrier which divides it from the sunny world—for as many winters it sleeps within one of the dark tunnels thus excavated by its powerful jaws; but after this extended period of repletion and repose, it scarcely lives over the same complement of weeks to exercise its broad, dusky pinions in the summer moonlight.”

316“A large, smooth, unsightly crawler, of a livid red and salmon color, black-headed, and black-clawed, this caterpillar swallows the chippings and dust made in his tunneling progress through the wood. Throughout the summer he thus eats his way, but in autumn prepares himself a broader chamber, which he hangs with a fabric as thick as broadcloth, and equally warm, composed of the raspings of wood scooped out of his cell, and united with the strong silk, which every species of caterpillar can spin.” For three or four years he thus continues in the tree chosen by the parent moth for his abode, and then “with bulky body, and dusky wings, from three to four inches in expansion, he is wont, about July, to emerge from his wooden cell.”—Acheta Domestica.

The muscular strength, very remarkable in the insect tribes, is surprisingly great in the goat moth. The number of muscles in the human body is reckoned at 529; but in this caterpillar, not so large as a man’s finger, there are 4061! Mr. Rennie relates that he once put a goat moth caterpillar under a glass bell weighing nearly half a pound, “yet it raised it up with the utmost ease.” A book weighing four pounds was then placed over the bell, and still the creature made good his escape by raising both book and glass! The name of this insect is derived from its peculiar odor. It is not found in America, although we have several moths partially resembling it, and among others, “Cossus Macmurtri.”

Hummingbird Hawk-moth.—The reader is probably aware that the name of sphinx was given to one of the three divisions of insects of the butterfly tribe, from the singular habit of their caterpillars, which raise the upper portions of their bodies in an erect position, and continue thus motionless for hours at a time, resembling, as Linnæus fancied, the statues of the Egyptian Sphinx. These 317caterpillars produce moths of a peculiar form, not unlike birds in their shape and movement. In England, they are rather rare; but our American species are quite common in some parts of the country. This hawk-moth is one of those insects given to wandering; it has been frequently taken several miles from land in the English Channel, and is observed to take flight sea-ward of its own accord in calm, pleasant days, when there is no wind to compel a movement in that direction.

The Admirable, vanessa atalanta.—Here we have another beautiful butterfly, found on both continents. The caterpillar feeds on the stinging nettle; from the leaves of which it makes itself a little tent, or dwelling, where it leads a solitary life, until at the end of a month it passes into the chrysalis state.

Blue Argus, p. argus, is not, we believe, found in America, nor is it very common in England. It has a broad band of crimson on its lower wings, while the general color is azure blue.

Marbled Butterfly, p. galathea, is also, we understand, unknown in America. The wings are black, finely marked with spots of white and yellow. The caterpillar feeds on grass.

Brown Meadow Butterfly, p. janira.—Also unknown in America, it is said.

Peacock Butterfly, vanessa Io.—This is considered as one of the most beautiful of European insects, in form and coloring; black, and reddish brown, marked with eyelets of yellow and blue, being its usual tints. The caterpillars are produced from eggs laid on the leaves of nettles; they are black and spiny. They live in company, providing themselves with a common tent or web, where they seek shelter during the night, and from the rains, to which they are very sensitive. The peacock butterfly is found 318throughout Europe, but is rare in England. The reader is probably aware that Linnæus gave to the butterfly family, in its largest sense, the name of Lepidoptera, or scalywings, from the minute scales, resembling dust to the naked eye, with which their wings are covered. Diminutive as these scales are, they are yet perfect in their order and formation, when examined by a microscope. The wing of a peacock butterfly was submitted to this scrutiny, and the scales actually counted by a patient observer; a quarter of an inch square was cut from the wing and placed under the instrument, when seventy rows of scales were counted on it, ninety to each row, so that a single square inch must contain 100,936 of these minute scales!

The peacock butterfly is unknown in America.

Note BB. The Glow-worm, (lampyris noctiluca) p. 206.

“Our English glow-worm, as we presume most people are aware, is the wingless female of a winged beetle, which also carries a light, though one of much inferior lustre.”

“It is supposed by some, that the light of the wingless beetle is bestowed for her protection, to scare away her hungry foes, the nightingale and other birds of night; it is opined by others, that the insect’s gift of brilliancy, like many of the like bestowed upon mankind, is the very means of her destruction, the very lure and light by which her biped foes are assisted to discover and devour her.” So writes the author of Acheta Domestica when speaking of the glow-worm of England.

This little creature is farther described as having “a tiny head,” “a slate-colored, oblong, flat, and wingless body, all divided into rings, and bearing at its nether extremity, the lamp—by night, a lustrous emerald, by day, a dull 319pale spot, composed of the sulphur-colored substance which supplies the light.”

“The female,” says another writer, “deposits her eggs in June or July, among moss or grass. These are yellow in color, and emit a ray of light. In five or six weeks the larvæ appear; they are at first white and small, but become darker as they increase in size. The body is formed of eleven rings, has six feet, and a double row of reddish spots, emitting light in the dark, from the last ring; in this stage, the creature creeps about, and the light which accompanies it is of use in showing it the snails, dead insects, &c., on which it feeds.” They frequently cast their skins, and it is only at the end of twenty-one months that they attain their full size. They then cease to eat, and assume the pupa or second stage of insect life in which they remain two or three weeks, when, throwing off their skin covering, they appear in their complete state: the male a perfect beetle with wings, and wing covers; the female without these appendages, being larger, and emitting a brighter light than the larva, from the last three rings of the body.

It has been proved that the light of the glow-worm “is unsupported by chemical action; is not connected with animal life; the luminous matter is not adherent exteriorly, but included in a capsule; it seems connected with peculiar organization, and is suspended by cold. The only control which the insect shows over it, is evinced by withdrawing the luminous matter temporarily from the transparency through which it shines”—Murray’s Experimental Researches—Philosophical Magazine.

The glow-worm is seldom seen in Scotland, and is not common beyond the northern counties of England. The light which these insects emit, is of a dull bluish or greenish color, and altogether, the effect they produce 320is far inferior to that of our American fire-fly, Lampyris Corusca.

Note CC. The Slow-worm, (anguis fragilis) p. 210.

They have in England a singular reptile, resembling a snake in its appearance, but in reality, more of a lizard in character, and belonging to a group called Saurophidia, or lizard-snakes. This is the slow-worm, or blind-worm, alluded to in the text. It is a scaly creature, about twelve or fifteen inches in length, sluggish in its habits, and perfectly harmless: Although frequently called the blind-worm, it has small, but very brilliant eyes. Its food consists of worms, beetles, &c. It burrows in the earth, sleeping away most of the cold weather. A singular characteristic of this creature is its brittleness, whence the epithet of fragilis. When frightened or irritated, it forcibly contracts its muscles, and if the slightest attempt is made to bend it, or a trifling blow be given, it literally breaks asunder!

The slow-worm is common in Europe, and in the adjacent parts of Asia also.

In England this slow-worm, with two lizards, and two snakes, the common or ringed snake and the viper, make up the entire list of reptiles found in the country.

Note DD. The Dorr, or Clock-beetle, (geotrupes stercorarius) p. 217.

This insect, familiar to us Americans from our reading, is not found in our own country. It much resembles, however, our common rolling beetles in its appearance, and these are closely allied to the far-famed sacred Scarabæus of the old Egyptians.

321The clock, or dorr, “is broad, short, and clumsy”—“black in the upper parts, but with wing-cases tipped with violet, while the legs and under surface are steely blue, glossed with green and purple.”

“To look at the unsullied polish of his mail, one might suppose him risen, like the green gold-chafer, from a bed of roses; whereas, being a true Scarabæus in nature, if not in name, there is little doubt, when we see him in his waving flight, of his having left recently a bed of a very opposite description—a bed in short of dung—wherein through the live-long day he has been reposing, or whereat, like his Egyptian prototype, he has been hard at work, helping, perhaps, his partner to roll masses for the enclosure of her eggs, or to bore holes for their reception.”—Acheta Domestica.

The dorr is one of those creatures which seek safety in feigning death; when touched, it immediately drops to the earth, stiff and apparently lifeless, suffering itself to be handled without the least sign of animation; but when left to itself, it will in a moment resume its faculties, and take flight again.

It is possible that some American reader, familiar with the epithet “shard-borne beetle,” may not be aware that the word shard signifies a fragment of pottery, this insect being often found among rubbish of that kind, or about loose stones.

Such is the dorr, which, in the summer evenings of England, “wheels his droning flight.”

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Note EE. The Death’s-head Moth, (acherontia atropos) p. 222.

This noted moth is one of the most remarkable of European insects. It is the largest of its genus, measuring, when its wings are fully expanded, nearly five inches in breadth. The prevailing colors of its upper wings are dark but rich waves of brown and black, broken by lighter touches and marked with a single white spot. The lower wings are yellowish, barred with black. The head and throat are dark; upon the upper portions of the throat, and on the body, are stamped with singular distinctness, a death’s-head and collar bones, such as are usually represented in mortuary devices. It is in consequence of these markings that the Death’s-head Moth has become an object of terror to the superstitious. Reaumur mentions a whole convent of nuns being driven to their wits end by the sudden appearance of one of these strange insects flying in at a dormitory window, of a summer’s evening. They never showed themselves formerly without causing more or less alarm. In addition to the singular mark on their bodies, these moths are also endowed with a peculiar gift, held to be almost miraculous by the wondering vulgar; when at all disturbed or irritated, they utter a cry which has been compared to that of a bat. The cause of this sound uttered by an insect whose race is wholly silent, has been a subject of much doubt and controversy; the best opinion would seem that it is produced by the vibration of two horny scales fixed on the thorax and covering a small aperture. To add to the character of this ominous moth, another naturalist has observed that the chrysalis, unlike that of others, is always buried in the earth, and enwrapped in a shroud-like garment.

The caterpillar of the Death’s-head is large, and 323brilliantly colored; yellow, obliquely barred with green, and spotted at intervals with blue and black. It has the usual horn-like tail of the caterpillars of the hawk-moth family. It feeds by preference on the leaves of the potato, and those of the jessamine; and is also found on hemp and woody night-shade. The tea-tree is another of its favorites, but, of course, in Europe, this last fancy can not often be indulged. They generally lie concealed by day, among the herbage, or in the earth. In August, they assume the chrysalis state, being wrapped in their tissue shrouds; and in September or October, appears the perfect and ominous moth, which, in some countries, has been called the “wandering bird.” When they first emerge from their gauze-like shrouds, their wings are not more than a finger-nail in breadth, but in the course of an hour or two, they are stretched and dilated to their full size.

The Death’s-head Moth is a great enemy to the bees, being exceedingly fond of honey. Mr. Huber dwells at length upon the singular sagacity of the little hive people in defending their stores against this intruder. The bees, at a first night attack of the Death’s-head, appear quite paralyzed with fear, and make no attempts to meet the invader; but the creature has hardly filled himself, and taken flight again, before they begin to erect a waxen wall within their gates, merely leaving one little aperture just large enough to allow of the passage of a single bee at a time, and of course the baffled moth, on appearing again before their camp, is compelled to beat a retreat. The account given by Mr. Huber of the defences raised by the bees, on these occasions, is very interesting; he observes that these moths were so common in 1804, and committed their devastations on so large a scale, that it attracted general attention, and the owners of apiaries determined 324to defend the mouths of the hives; when preparing to carry out their plans, however, they discovered that in many instances the bees had already taken the same course, human reason, and insect instinct producing the same result. The variety of these bee fortifications was also very remarkable, as they differed in almost every hive; walls, or arcades, or masked gateways, of various constructions, were raised with great speed and singular skill. The fact that the bees did not make war upon the moths with their usual arm, the sting, has been conjectured by Mr. Huber, to proceed, possibly, from the resemblance between the cry of the Death’s-head, and that of their own queen bee when captured, which, it is well known, always throws the entire band of working bees into disorder and confusion.

The Death’s-head moth is not found in America. This is rather singular, as the favorite food of its caterpillar is the potato, an American vegetable, formerly unknown in Europe. The Sphinx Chionanthi, one of our American moths, resembles it in size; but the larvæ, and the markings of the moth itself, are wholly different.

Note FF.

“American Blight,” (aphis lanata) p. 236.

This blight has been a very great pest of the orchards, in some countries of Europe, especially in parts of France, England, and the Netherlands. In 1810, so many of the cider apples of Gloucestershire were infested with it, that it was feared cider-making would have to be abandoned in that region. Sir Joseph Banks appears to have given the insect the name of “American blight,” being led to believe it had not come from France, and supposing that it had been imported from America with some apple-trees, 325planted in a nursery at Chelsea. An English writer on orchards says, “I have from good authority heard that it was brought to this country from France, in the reign of Louis XIV., when a colony of refugees settled at Paddington, and there it was first observed to begin its depredations on apple-trees.” This last account is far more likely to be correct, since the insect has been very common in France, while in America, we hear so little of it, that it is scarcely known to any but entomologists, and nursery men.

Dr. Fitch, in the Annual Report on the State Cabinet of Natural History of New York, dated 1851, says of this aphis: “Commonly, only solitary individuals are found, and in but one instance have I met with it clustered, and covering a limb, as described by foreign writers.”

It is rather remarkable that as warm seasons are said to favor its increase, our warmer summers should not have rendered it more troublesome in this country; possibly our colder winters may have a counteracting effect, although, as a general rule, insects with their larvæ and eggs, will bear great extremes of cold.

Note GG. The Holly, (Ilex) p. 247.

We have in America two kinds of holly. One, Ilex montana, or Mountain Holly, is found on the Alleghanies, and the Catskills, and is seldom more than a straggling shrub, from eight to twenty feet in height. The Ilex opaca, or American Holly, strictly speaking, is a tree from twenty to fifty feet in height, found in most woodlands from Maine to the Southern States, where it is more common than in the northern parts of the country. It is far, however, from being a familiar tree to most Americans, whose acquaintance with the holly is apt to be more connected with their 326English reading, than with the reality. The foliage of the holly of this continent is less glossy, and the berries are less highly colored than those of the European tree.

Note HH. To Wilt, page 249.

The verb to “wilt” thus noticed by Mr. Knapp, as an English provincialism, is very generally used in America, and perhaps deserves a word of defence more than most terms of the kind preserved among us. It would seem to have a meaning of its own, scarcely expressed by any other synonym; it signifies neither to “wither,” to “blight,” to “die,” nor to “decay.” If we understand the word rightly, it means something of debility and drooping, akin to faintness in animal life, and implying the capability of restoration. There is thus a shade of distinction in the word, which at times may approach to poetical delicacy, and which redeems it from a place with others of the same class.

To “hawl,” or “haul,” is also placed among the provincialisms of his neighborhood by Mr. Knapp, p. 52; but this, assuredly, is a good English word. Johnson gives the derivation from the French haler, and the Dutch halen, to draw. It is a very common word among us, and, with Johnson for our authority, we need not give it up.

Let it not be supposed from the previous remarks, that as a general thing, the writer is in favor of keeping up the provincialisms of our language; far from this, it appears to us that as the English tongue spreads wider and wider over the earth, it becomes a more imperative duty among those who use it, to preserve their common speech in all its purity.

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Note II. Fairy Rings, page 251.

There are two sorts of circular marks on the turf bearing this name in England. “One kind about seven yards in diameter, containing a round, bare path, a foot broad, with green grass in the midst of it.” “The other varying in size, is marked by a circumference of grass, greener and fresher than the rest.” Some writers have attributed these rings to the fertilizing effects of a particular mushroom growing in circles; while others hold them to be produced by electricity.

It is well known that on the American prairies, there are broad rings, the origin of which has been disputed by different travelers, and to which the name of “fairy rings,” has also been given. One of the writers on that region, has accounted for them very naturally, and if his report be correct, we have not much ground for indulging in the poetical fancy that they are the tracks of the fairies dancing “their ringlets to the whistling wind.” Mr. Catlin believes them to be nothing more than the “wallows” of the buffalo.

“In the heat of summer these huge animals ... often graze on the low grounds of the prairies, where there is a little stagnant water lying amongst the grass, and the ground underneath, being saturated with it, is soft, into which the enormous bull, lowered down upon one knee, will plunge his horns and at last his head ... soon making an excavation in the ground, into which the water filters from among the grass, forming for him in a few moments, a cool and comfortable bath.... By this operation, which is done perhaps in the space of half an hour, a circular excavation of fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, and two feet in depth is completed, and left for the water to run 328into, which soon fills it to the level of the ground.... To these sinks, the waters lying on the surface of the prairies are continually draining and lodging in them their vegetable deposits, which, after a lapse of years, fill them up to the surface with a rich soil, which throws up an unusual growth of grass and herbage, forming conspicuous circles which arrest the eye of the traveler.” Mr. C. farther adds that “these strange circles often occur in groups, and of different sizes.”—Catlin’s N. A. Indians, Vol. I. p. 249.

Note JJ. Æcidium, page 255.

Æcidium is a genus of minute parasitic plants, belonging to the order of Fungi. They are found upon the leaves, the bark, and even upon the flowers of living plants, but are altogether distinct from the cuticle of the vegetable on which they have their growth. They are always tubular in their form. On the weeds and trees of northern countries they are very common, and a great many species have attracted the attention of botanists, while to the careless eye, they often appear like the nests of some small insect. The common fancy among farmers that the barberry-bush is injurious to wheat, producing rust in the grain, is owing to an æcidium growing on the barberry, which covers its leaves with a bright, orange powder. The only resemblance, however, between the rust of wheat and the barberry blight lies in the color. The rust in wheat, is in fact another, and a wholly different species of this same genus æcidium; it is called by botanists, Puccinia graminis. Another common æcidium is that of the pear-tree, which has received the name of Peridia.

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Note KK. Pollarding Trees, page 267.

The word pollard is but little used in America; it is derived from the verb to poll, or lop, the heads of trees. With us, the custom so much condemned by the author, is unknown; but it is no just sense of the value of wood, no wise spirit of true economy, which causes the difference. On the contrary, if our timber is not mutilated in this way, it is simply owing to a custom still more culpable and wasteful—wherever a branch is needed, a whole tree will be felled. Often has the writer seen a fine chestnut hewn down by some careless lad, merely for the nuts of one season’s growth; frequently have we found oaks, or maples of good size, cut at the root in the same way, for the sake of the wild grapes which hung entwined among their higher branches; and on one occasion, we have seen a noble pine, a hundred and fifty feet in height, the growth perchance of several centuries, felled only to reach a hive of bees, which had taken refuge in a hollow branch.

Note LL. Ice Floating, page 271.

Absurd as the notion is, that the ice in our lakes and rivers sinks in spring, yet there are not wanting people who firmly believe it. Not long since, the writer chanced to meet in print a traveler’s story, evidently credited by the individual who asserted it, that the ice in Lake Champlain invariably disappeared in this way, sinking to the bottom of the lake every spring. Whether to rise again the following winter, the reader was not informed. In fact, it would be quite as rational to expect the snow which lies so long on our frozen rivers and lakes most winters, 330to sink bodily into the ice, as to maintain that the ice sinks in the water.

There is a coating of ice, however, which is found not unfrequently beneath the water, and that in running streams. But this is ground ice, as it is called, and has been formed where it is found, adhering to the soil which forms the bed of the river, and has never sunk from the surface. On the contrary, once loosened from its hold, it not only rises itself, but brings with it pebbles, gravel, &c. The formation of this ground ice has attracted the attention of distinguished scientific men. The slower motion of water at the bottom than on the surface of a stream, connected with the fact that crystals of ice form naturally and very readily on pointed and rough bodies, such as the stones or vegetable substances at the bottom of streams, have been supposed to be the causes of this ground ice.

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