in which they had been deposited. A specimen of the Trichiosòma was found by a companion of my boy's, which was full of these Ichneumon caterpillars; and an old empty follicle, which I found, had likewise had its occupant destroyed by the same kind of depredators. The imagos or flies of the Trichiosòma appear to be tolerably abundant in the habitat mentioned.

The accompanying figure is sketched from nature by my young naturalist (now 9 years of age), who is entirely self-taught, and I hope it may be sufficiently to your purpose to have it engraved; as it would probably induce others to direct the attention of their children to the study of nature. I am, Sir, yours, &c.—Samuel Woodward. Norwich, May 16. 1831. The above instance of the check effected by the Ichneumonidæ to superabundant increase in the insect population, should be added to the other instances enumerated p. 105.-J. D.

Corollas and Petals perforated by Bees. - Mr. Rennie disputes (Insect Miscellanies, p. 50.) the younger Huber's assertion, that bees perforate the tubes of bean flowers (Faba vulgàris); he will find that assertion confirmed Vol. IV. p. 93. of this Magazine; and that of their perforating the nectaries of aconite blossoms averred Vol. IV. p. 479. In the present Number, p. 74., he will perceive questionless testimony that bees also perforate the blossoms of Antirrhinum majus, which Mr. Rennie (Insect Miscellanies, p. 49.) disputes; and also those of Jasminum officinale. In addition to these instances, we present the following: - Dr. Withering, in noticing our native columbine (Aquilègia vulgàris), in his Arrangement of British Plants, observes, "The elongated and incurved nectary of this flower seems to bid defiance to the entrance of the bee, in search of the hidden treasure; but the admirable ingenuity of the sagacious insect is not to be thus defeated; for, on ascertaining the impracticability of effecting his usual admission, he with his proboscis actually perforates the blossom near the depôt of honey, and thus extracts the latent sweets without farther difficulty." (B. Maund, in his Botanic Garden for September, 1831, under Aquilegia canadensis, No. 322.)

The following notice of petals perforated by bees, we quote from the Lancaster Herald of June 30. 1831:

"The Humble Bee. We have had a singular instance of the destructibility of this insect, amongst carnations, communicated to us by Messrs. Connelly and Son of this town, who have had many of their best flowers destroyed by it. It appears that, as soon as the bud begins to open, the bee settles upon it; and by causing some injury to the foot of the petals, by its proboscis, all farther process is stayed, and the bud dies, scarcely half blown. This fact was mentioned to Mr. Loudon, who, when here, found Mr. Connelly, jun., engaged in destroying the bees, and washing the buds of his plants, to prevent further injury."-J. D.

Hydrobius lateralis not a British Insect.-Sir, Mr. Curtis having upon my authority introduced into his valuable Guide * Hydròbius lateràlis Fab. as a British insect, I feel it due to that gentleman as well as myself, to state that its admission as such was erroneous, and that it has no claim to be so regarded.

The fact is, that one or two entomologists in a distant part of the country (whose names I will not mention, believing them to be ashamed of the transaction) managed to foist this insect on a very assiduous collector, but possessing no scientific knowledge, by dishonourably substituting it for an insect of a genus, to an unpractised eye, somewhat resembling it in external appearance. The poor man, without any suspicion, disposed of the insect as British, and of his own capturing, to the highly respectable

* A Guide to an Arrangement of British Insects, by John Curtis. Reviewed in p. 429. of our Fourth Volume.

gentleman in whose cabinet I observed it. Both this gentleman and the collector, who is a very deserving and honest man, are now satisfied they have been grossly imposed upon.

I cannot but express my unqualified detestation of all such attempts at imposition, from whatever motives they may arise; but especially in this instance, in which I have reason to believe the design of the parties was utterly unworthy of men professing the slightest regard for science I am, Sir, yours, &c.-A. H. Davis. London, Sept. 19. 1831. Ravages of Cetonia hirta of Scopoli and Fabricius. - Sir, In some remarks on the Cetònia, in the 94th number of British Entomology, I alluded to a letter addressed to the Horticultural Society of London, on the subject of the ravages of a species of Cetònia, an extract from which letter was transmitted to me, with specimens of the insect, for my opinion respecting the species; and, as I regretted not being able to subjoin this account to my observations, I hope you will do me the favour to give it a place in your Magazine.

Mr. St. John says, "And a gentleman [the Cetònia hírta Scop. and Fab.] which the Maltese call Bouzuff, and the English inhabitants the Botany Bay, after he has filled himself, retires under ground till the March apricot blossoms, when he emerges; and I am for two months obliged to have people employed solely to pick him off the blossoms, of which he readily eats the nectary; and, having eaten one, he goes to the next. He is very active, and flies like a bee. When the roses are in blossom, these beasts are so fond of them, that you may take twenty out of one flower, and in ten minutes as many more. A dark-coloured flower they never touch. I don't think he is known in cold climates."

The beetle above alluded to by Mr. St. John is very similar in size and colour to the Cetònia stíctica figured in British Entomology (pl. 374.); but it is duller and more hairy, and appears to me to be the Cetònia hírta of Scopoli and Fabricius, which is found as far to the north as Paris. I am, Sir, yours, &c.-John Curtis. Grove Place, Sept. 1831.

ART. II. Botany.

A VARIETY of the common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris).- Sir, I have on three or four different occasions met with a variety of the common groundsel (Senecio vulgàris), which I do not find noticed in our English Floras. The florets, invested by the pappus, seem to be unnaturally protruded beyond the summit of the involucrum. This appearance reminds one of the female flowers of Gnaphàlium dioícum, and Tussilago Petasites. Having

35

found a specimen of this variety three days ago near St. Albans, I send you a drawing of its inflorescence (fig. 35.). a and b represent two states of the capitulum, of the natural size, and c is a magnified floret. One striking deviation in this variety from the ordinary character of the plant, consists in the considerable exsertion of the stigma beyond the anthers and far beyond the corolla, arising from the elongation of the style; whereas the stigma is in general scarcely, if at all, protruded. Smith, in the English Flora (vol. iii. p. 428.), makes it a generic character of Senècio, that the style is "the length of the stamens," whose anthers, however, are not always, as in the present variety, wholly within the corolla. Another anomaly in the florets of this variety consists in the length of the ovarium; being twice that which it has in the

ordinary state. The stigmas, anthers, and pollen appeared to be quite perfect, and to possess their usual characters; but I believe that all the seeds would have been abortive, at least all the ovaries that I dissected were. incomplete. We may probably ascribe the elongation of the style and ovarium to their appropriating that portion of nutriment, which would otherwise have been employed for developing the embryo. I am, Sir, yours, &c.-J. S. Henslow. Cambridge, Sept. 6. 1831.

Fumaria Vaillantii, a British Plant. I had gathered this plant on Chatham Hill, Kent, about five years ago, and had placed it in my herbarium as a variety of F. parviffòra; when, accidentally looking over some of the species of this genus with Professor Lindley, a specimen caught my attention which I immediately identified with the Chatham Hill plant. This specimen was subscribed F. Vaillanti; and upon my return to Cambridge, I forwarded my own specimen to Professor Lindley, that he might compare it with his. He has decided it to be the same, and I therefore do not hesitate to add this species to our British list.-J. S. Henslow. Cambridge, Sept. 16. 1831.

Mr. David Don, on inspecting the specimens marked F. parviflora in the herbarium of Mr. T. F. Forster, has found all of them to be F. Vaillanti, except some derived from Kent; and he hence conceives it probable that F. Vaillánti is even a more frequent plant than F. parviflora. Mr. Don still considers the description in Smith's Eng. Flora, vol. iii. p. 256., to be accurately applicable to F. parviflora, except in the habitats. —J. D.

Cineraria integrifolia, and its Varieties. - Sir, In looking over Sir J. E. Smith's description of Cinerària integrifòlia (Eng. Flor., vol. iii. p. 445.), I find that he was rather inclined to consider the var. ß, called by some C. marítima, but not that of Linnæus, a distinct species, but was deterred by the very variable nature of the Cineràriæ nearly allied to this species. He observes concerning it, "It is twice the size of the above (var. a), with numerous broad teeth to some of its radical leaves, with four to six flowers in the umbel, nearly twice the size of those on the Newmarket Heath specimens ;" i. e. the var. a. (fig. 36.) My reason for calling the attention

β

35

36

of your readers to this is, that on the 8th of last June, when searching on the Gogmagog Hills, near this place, for the var. a, which generally grows there in great plenty, I was unable to obtain any specimens, but found the var. ẞ in the greatest plenty, growing in the very same place in which the var. a is commonly found. Now, it appears from this that the moisture of the weather during last spring had the same effect here which the vicinity of the sea has at Holyhead, where this large variety was found by Mr.Davies, as recorded by Smith, namely, that of converting this species from the small state in which it is usually found, into the large and dissimilar plant called by Mr. Davies Cinerària marítima integrifolia. We may, I think,therefore, from the var. 6, which was, I believe, not before known in that locality, having last year totally supplanted the var. a, which had always previously been found in that place, and was not to be seen last year, conclude that the two are nothing more than varieties of the same plant, caused by difference in the degree of moisture. I have sent the accompanying specimens, that you may see the great difference in size and appearance of the two varieties; of which var. a was gathered on the Devil's Ditch, Newmarket Heath, June 5. 1829, and var.

B on the Gogmagog Hills, June 8. 1829. In some specimens of this last there were four or even five stems to one root. It may be as well to add, that the var. ẞ has never before, so far as I know, been found at such a distance from the sea. I am, Sir, yours, &c. - Charles C. Babington. St. John's College, Cambridge, Feb. 12. 1830.

ART. III. Meteorology.

-

THE East Wind.-The ill effects of the east wind on health have always been noticed. It is well known that air, as it grows warmer, becomes capable of holding in solution (or drinking up) a greater quantity of moisture; a current of cold air rushing into a place which is warmer will, therefore, dry up a great deal of wet. For this reason, damp clothes in winter, placed in the open window of a warm room, dry uncommonly fast. Now, it is well known that nothing is more pernicious to the health than a sudden drying up of the perspiration. Whether this be owing merely to the cold caused on the skin by the evaporation of so much moisture, or to the deranging of some other link in the animal economy, need not be asked; it is sufficient that the fact is so. For this reason, exposure to any current of air which is acquiring heat, and is therefore becoming drier, is uncommonly prejudicial. Every one has observed how disagreeable are currents of air in warm rooms; in fact, the warmer the room, and the nearer we are to the fireplace, so much the more annoying is a draft from any of its crannies. Such a current, increasing in heat as it passes from the cold of the external air to the warmth of a room, will absorb double its former moisture, and of course will dry the perspiration on the body faster than it can be supplied, causing by that means rheumatism in all its forms, toothache, headache, &c. Now, it is evident that the same reason which causes a draft from the open air into a room to be disagreeable, will cause any wind blowing from a cold region into one that is warmer, to have exactly the same effects. The east wind is in this predicament; it blows from a colder continent, which retains the cold of winter longer than the marine tract on which we are situated, the temperature of which is more equal, and at such times warmer. Damp or misty winds are also proverbially hurtful, and their injurious effects seem to arise from the moisture continually deposited by them on the body, which is evaporated by the natural heat, and causes in that process an unusual and hurtful degree of cold, or diminution of the animal temperature. — N.

London Fogs.-Mr. Davy, the brother of Sir Humphry Davy, was, I believe, the first person who broadly laid it down that fogs arise whenever the air becomes colder than the water. From this principle we can draw the following conclusions:-1. Fogs will be most frequent in autumn, after the earth has been heated during the summer, the air cooling faster than the earth. 2. Fogs will be greatest after the hottest summer. 3. Fogs show that the air has become suddenly colder, and therefore are a sign of snow. 4. Fogs will be rare in hot climates, where the air is usually very hot. 5. Fogs will be very frequent in the arctic regions, where the sudden depressions of temperature are enormously below the mean temperature. 6. Fogs will be most frequent over shallow water, which sooner partakes of the temperature of the bottom, than the deep water. The end of the deep water is known, near the banks of Newfoundland, by the sudden commencement of the fogs. The thick fogs which appeared during Captain Franklin's last expedition prove that the sea is very shallow, and the mean temperature not very low, upon that part of the arctic coast. 7. If the London fogs have increased during late years, it will prove either that the mean temperature has increased, or that the

variations of temperature have increased, or that a disproportion of temperature between the water and air has increased, or that the Thames has diminished in depth. It is my belief that the last has occurred, partly from the natural rise of all embanked river beds, and partly from the effect of Waterloo Bridge. This bridge is unhappily placed near a bend of the river, and it is to be feared that the allignment of the arches of the other bridge, and the course of the current, have not been duly considered. The only remedy is to narrow the channel, so as to increase its depth, upon some such plan as Colonel Trench's. The quays of the insignificant Seine are open, the Thames is inaccessible. It is, however, very dubious whether that great work would pay as a commercial speculation. (Courier, Nov. 20. 1827.)

On the Crystallisation of Snow. - Sir, Having been so fortunate as to meet with the snow crystals in great plenty this winter, I cannot help thinking that, as I believe they are not often seen in this country, it may be acceptable to some of your readers to have the following short account of them: - On the 4th of this month (Feb. 1830.), and for some days after, the thermometer standing at about 22°, and the wind from the E.N.E. nearly all the snow that fell was of that beautiful stellated form, called by Scoresby, in his work on the Arctic Regions (vol. i. p. 477.), the "lamellar stelliform crystals." They consist mostly of six points, radiating from a centre, forming with each other, at that centre, angles of 60°, and having commonly additional ramifications on the primary ones, in the same plane with them, and forming angles of 60° with the primaries, as in the following figures (fig. 37.), of which the form 6 was the most common, and after that d

b

a

37

m

k

h

c and d. e and ƒ were but seldom seen, and g I met with but once. The last three appear to be formed by the obliteration of the alternate rays, so as to form angles of 120° instead of 60°; the additional ramifications still forming angles of 60°, with the primaries. h, i, and k, which I did not see myself, but which were communicated to me by a friend, appear to be crystals in a progressive state of formation. The size of the crystals varied from one eighth to one third of an inch in diameter. It appears from Scoreby's table (vol. i. p. 433.), that the time when the greatest quantity of crystals fell was when the thermometer stood between 16° and 22°, and the wind was N.E. or N.N.E.; which nearly corresponds with what was observed here. The forms observed do not exactly agree