of summer, on a furze bush. His abdomen exceeded in size a wren's egg, was of an extremely bright yellow, and marked with brown something in the shape of the marks on a diadem spider (Arànea diadèma). (fig. 78.) After I had returned home, delighted with my prize, I put him into a workbox made of fine wire gauze, together with large specimens of the beforementioned species, many of whom he devoured. He was of great strength, and had very long sharp jaws, but I had not the curiosity to find out whether they were venomous; his legs were long, and after his committing these murders I was obliged to remove him into a mouse cage, and subsequently into a box. I fed him daily on flies, and allowed him to walk about after being fed. Notwithstanding all my care, however, he gradually lost colour, grew thinner, and in about a month he died. I, being ignorant at that time how to preserve spiders, ran him through with a pin after the manner of other insects, and placed him in my cabinet, where he now remains, but shrivelled to half size, and retaining hardly any thing of his former beauty. Position of the eyes thus, : :: : If any of your correspondents can tell me, through the medium of your Magazine, to what species it belongs, and likewise a simple and easy method of preserving spiders that have much colour, I should feel myself much obliged.-C. Lambe. May 6. 1829. Spiders on Chestnut Timber. In Wood's Letters of an Architect (vol. i. p. 60.), it is stated that all the timbers in the cathedral of Rheims " are said to be of chestnut, and the proof is, that no spiders are found upon it." What is meant by this? Will spiders not live on chestnut timber? John Brown. Westcroft, near Huntingdon, April, 1829. : The Zeuzèra 'sculi (Vol. I. p. 66.) has been supposed to feed only on elms; the specimen I have was taken from an ash. The moth lays its eggs on the body of the tree during July or August; the larvæ, on exclusion from the egg, feed at first on the bark of the tree, penetrating the solid wood shortly after. I am not certain as to the length of time they feed, but I have reason to believe it is not until the second summer the perfect insect is excluded. My ideas for this I give the egg is not hatched before August, and the larva from it becomes torpid by November, and as it cannot in this short time be full grown, it commences feeding the following spring, and perfects itself during the summer. Before winter it spins a web across the orifice in the tree, and remains in this state until a month and a few days previous to its appearance as a perfect insect, when it assumes the chrysalis form. Its extrication from the tree is perfectly easy. In the chrysalis state every segment of the body has a row of sharp short spines, which enables it to shift itself along the passage it has made by the motion of its body, the spines acting as levers against the sides of the hole. By these means it soon reaches the entrance from the exterior of the tree, which takes place a few hours before the developement of the perfect insect. The drawing (fig. 79.) is of the natural size; my specimen, being a female, is large. It is furnished with powerful jaws, and has a hard brown shield on the top of the first segment of the body, within which it can entirely withdraw its head. The last segment of the body is furnished with a similar hard shield. The drawing of the wood is the full size. Another larva, found at the same time, had been the cause of its own destruction, the tree on which it was feeding being so nearly divided, that the upper part had fallen and crushed the caterpillar. a, the respiratory organs. I shall be happy to furnish you with a drawing of the chrysalis, when it enters that form, should this be sufficiently interesting. I am, Sir, &c. D. G. Kerridge. Ipswich, March 3. 1829. The Hessian Fly. Sir, At Vol. I. p. 227., I observe some notice taken of the Hessian fly, and I send this in hopes that you will insert it in an early Number, where it may meet the eye of the reverend author, who will, I trust, favour us with his remarks on the nature and mode of propagation of a fly which has this year destroyed about one third of late sown wheat all over this country. As soon as the ear of wheat was fully developed, and before the flower was expanded, a small yellow or sulphur-coloured caterpillar, about one eighth of an inch in length, and thick in proportion, had taken its abode in numbers where the young milky grain was forming, which they completely devoured; and the infested grains never showed the stamina, nor did the anthers expand. In about twelve days they became torpid, and in six days more they were transformed into small black flies, not half the size of those figured by Mr. Kirby. On calm evenings these flies appeared in myriads on the outside of the ear, but always sheltered themselves from the sun's rays amongst the husks; they existed about two weeks in the fly state and then disappeared, but have, in all likelihood, left the rudiments of a future generation. This is the second year that the same destructive insect has proved hurtful to the wheat crops in this country. It will be obliging if Mr. Kirby, or any of your scientific correspondents, will, through the medium of your Magazine, inform us where they think the eggs are likely to be deposited. Can it be in the downy end of the grain of wheat? Is it likely that these eggs will continue in the future plant, till the ear is again protruded, and then come into life, or how are we to account for their existence at that late period of the season, without appearing earlier? When once its history is properly known (which in the present instance can only be discovered by analogy), means may be judiciously employed for its extermination. I am, Sir, yours, &c. A. G. Perthshire, Sept.1828. a careful consideration. The Turnip Fly.-In Cunningham's work on New South Wales, it is stated that the turnip fly has been introduced into that country by means of turnip seed. Was it introduced in the egg or larva state? If either egg or larva be found among the seed, can they be destroyed by immersion in prepared fluid? As this is a question of the greatest importance to the agriculturist, it is to be hoped that some of your correspondents will give it -J. S. Thurgarton, Norfolk, April 17. 1829. Lymnæ a ovata. (fig. 80. a.)— From the specimen in my collection, I should consider this shell distinct from the H. pùtris, or péregra of authors, and certainly not the Hèlix pùtris of Dr. Turton. This variety (of H. pùtris) may be that which I have found in tolerable abundance in the neighbourhood of Doncaster, and which very much resembles the Lymnæ`a ovàta of some authors; but this last (L. ovàta) is not described in his Conchological Dictionary. The terminal volutions are much more covered by the body than those in the shell figured in the Magazine of Natural History (Vol. I. p. 425. g). The line of separation is not quite so oblique; the outer lip is somewhat compressed at the margin, and it is attached nearer to the upper part of the body, where it is rather flattened; it is more tumid than the péregra, and slightly striate longitudinally; and, like the H. stagnàlis, has a few flattened spaces, as if pieces had been chipped off. My largest specimen is somewhat more that six tenths of an inch in length, and about four tenths in breadth. Having met only with two specimens in this spot, I consider it more rare than L. pùtris, a 80 which is very common here. Lymnæa frágilis Mag. Nat. Hist. (vol. i. by white opaque lines. F. C. L. Guernsey, April 20. 1829. The curious Worm. In answer to your correspondent W. W. (p. 103.), I beg to say that his curious worm is a species of Filària, which inhabits the intestines of the larger beetles, but is occasionally to be found in ditches, or in moist earth. See Kirby and Spence's Entomology, vol. iv. p. 229. I have taken this worm, from 3 to 4 in. in length, from the bowels of the Carabus hortensis and C. mádidus of Marsham; and I have found the same in wells, and once, like your correspondent, on the ground. — G. I. Dr. Martius's Discoveries. —I am anxious for a detail of the discoveries of Dr. Martius. I have no doubt but there are discoveries yet to be made on the structure of plants, that will some day make the knowledge of the present day appear like child's play. E. K. Feb. 7. 1829. A Cedar and a Species of Wild Basil. In Ashantee (Bowdich's Mission, p. 175.) there is a cedar, the leaves of which exude a considerable quantity of liquid salt, which crystallises during the day. There is, also, in Chile, a species of wild basil, which is every morning covered with saline globules, resembling dew, which the natives use as salt. (Bucke's Beauties of Nature.) Can any of your readers inform me of the systematic names of these trees?-P. S. March 1829. 81 Starwort. The plant described by Graham, in his British Georgics, under the name of Starwort, which your Berwick correspondent (Vol. I. p. 299.) cannot identify, is manifestly the Pinguícula vulgàris (fig. 81.), very common in upland marshes and in peat soil.-J. R. The ancient Mallow. - Sir, in answer to the courteous objections of your correspondent G. M. (p. 118.), permit me to observe that one is already refuted by himself, since he admits that we cannot positively identify the ancient mallow, which was expressly my own assertion; observing, at the time, that many other plants were in the same predicament. He says, "there is at least as much reason to believe that the Malva, of Horace, is the same as the mallow with us, as there is that it should be any other plant." I will allow that there is much more reason to believe it our mallow; but supposing that no doubt remained, not only of the mallow of Horace being a malvaceous plant, but of its actual inclusion in the genus Málva, still the plant would not be identified, the species being so numerous. ours. It would be more difficult, perhaps, to determine whether the mallow of Horace be the same with that of the Old Testament, than whether it be If mallow be derived from the Latin, it expresses those emollient qualities for which the Roman mallow was noted; if we trace it to the Hebrew, the name expresses saltness, for which neither the Roman nor * Gordius Aiguation) 102,211. x query see 406. the modern mallow is remarkable, but which is very observable in many of the Atríplices, to which, according to Bochart, some suppose the scriptural mallow to belong. It might, perhaps, have been more judicious to speak of the ancient mallow as an esculent in frequent use, than as an important one; yet I can scarcely admit that it is incorrect. I would willingly abide by the decision of those wandering tribes who were reduced to the necessity of plucking mallows from the bushes; or of the Romans, who appear to have rated the mallow much as we do the lettuce, as a cool and agreeable vegetable. Evelyn says it was taken by the poets for all salads in general. "Pythagoras," continues he, "held malvæ folium sanctissimum, and we find Epimenides in Plato, at his mallow and asphodel; and, indeed, it was of old the first dish at table. The Romans had it also in deliciis, malvæ salubres. corpori,-approved by Galen and Dioscorides ;—namely, the garden mallow, by others the wild, but I think both proper for the pot rather than sallet." Your correspondent observes that Sir J. E. Smith expressly states that the malvaceous plants are not esculent; but a moment's reflection will show him that if he takes this in its strictest sense, as including all the plants of that order, it argues rather against than in favour of Horace's mallow being the same as our own, since, whether important or otherwise, the Roman mallow was undoubtedly an esculent. Some of this order, however, are eaten; the Hibiscus esculéntus for instance, which, according to Martyn, affords a rich dish (the pods being boiled with butter), eaten only in private families. Evelyn says that the "arborescent holy hocks" are" by some recommended and eaten with oil and vinegar, and by others with butter." He includes the curled mallow in his Acetària. It is understood that the Chinese use some kind of mallow in their food; and "Prosper Alpinus informs us that a tree of the mallow kind is eaten by the Egyptians." E. K. Lathra a squamaria. - This curious plant is not uncommon near Richmond, and is found in the thickest parts of the woods, generally at the roots of the hazel. I never saw it growing truly parasitically but once, and that was on the roots of an ash tree by the side of the river Swale, from which I have seen fine specimens gathered: it even flowered once after the tree had been cut down, and the root torn up; but died in the winter. It was not in any way different from other specimens gathered in this neighbourhood, and was, in my opinion, truly parasitical. —L. E. O. Richmond, Yorkshire, March 4. 1829. Blackdown Fossils sent to us by J. R. The following names of genera and species of fossil shells, from Blackdown, Devonshire, figured in Mineral Conchology or elsewhere, have been supplied by Mr. Sowerby: Venus plana, Mineral Conchology, tab. 20; Túrbo rotundàtus, 433; Venus fàba, 567; Ammonites varicòsus, 451; Turritella granulàta, 565; Túrbo concinnus, 433; Cárdium Hillànum, 14; Cardium proboscideum, 156; Cucullæ a oblonga, 286; Cucullæ a glabra, 67; Cucullæ a costellàta, 447; Cucullæ a carinata, 207; Cucullæ a punctàta, n. s.; Vènus caperàta, 518; Pectúnculus umbonàtus, 472; Trigònia alifórmis, 215; Mýtilus edéntulus, 439; Inocéramus concéntricus, 305; Nùcula impréssa, 475; Gryphæ a cónica; Córbula élegans, 572; Córbula gigantèa, 209; Nática canrèna, Parkinson, t. 6. f. 2.; Isocárdia cuneàta; Isocárdia sp.?; Sòlen Sanguinolària; Buccinum sp.? On the Blackdown Fossils, by R. C. Taylor, Esq.-The quarries of Blackdown have long been known to furnish the best whetstones, and the most beautiful fossils, perhaps in all England. Whatever may be the merits of the former, the latter come more especially and properly under our notice, From this locality have been furnished more than 150 species of fossil Tes * Martyn's Miller's Gardener's Dictionary. tacea, and it is distinguished no less by the profusion of these remains, than by the variety of their species, and the beauty of their preservation. Its site is upon the western extremity of the green sand formation, where it is prolonged or protruded considerably beyond its general line of escarpment, and forms extensive out-lying masses; amongst which the elevated tableland of Blackdown is conspicuous. The fine state of preservation of the fossils of this district is owing to the subtitution of chalcedony for the calcareous matter of the shells; by which singular process all the delicacy and characters of the original are preserved, in a much less destructible material; nothing being requisite to complete the copy but colour. Those with which we have been favoured by our correspondent belong to the following genera: Turritella, A'rca, Cucullæ a, Trigònia, Cárdium, Pectúnculus, Venus, Córbula, Chàma, Inocéramus, and Ammonites, with an Echinite. They are the most prevailing of the green sand fossils. As it forms part of our plan to illustrate the geology of our island by catalogues and sketches of the most characteristic forms in the respective formations, it will perhaps be advisable to postpone the draw 62 ings of the Blackdown fossils, until they can be more appropriately introduced in the course of our geological articles. Meanwhile, we figure one of those bodies (fig. 82.) which are conjectured by our correspondent to be fruit, but which, in fact, are zoophytes, originally bearing the name of Tulip Alcyònia, and now placed under the genus Siphònia. Some interesting illustrative figures of this zoophyte may be seen in Geol. Trans., vol. ii. Mr. Parkinson describes it as a fossil animal, with a polymorphous body supported by a stem proceeding from a fusiform or ramose root-like pedicle; the original substance spongious, and pierced by a bundle of tubes derived from the pedicle, passing through the stem, then ramifying and terminating on the surface of the body, 2 3 With the other fossils from Blackdown are obscure spongiform spherical bodies, which must have existed in great abundance at the same time with the Testàcea. There are some other varieties of zoophytes, and numerous shells, besides those now furnished, which occur in this rich depository of organic remains. Contributions like these are highly estimated; they enlarge our acquaintance with the products of different districts, and will, moreover, much facilitate the object we have in view of furnishing an outline of English geology, derived, as much as possible, from original sources. We cannot expect collectors to contribute specimens of rarity or of value, but there are districts where they are so readily attainable, that the geological student would often find it preferable to furnish originals, as in the present instance, than the drawings with which we have been favoured. R. C. T. The Packet of Fossils sent by Samuel Tyssen, Esq., of Narborough Hall, Norfolk, are, with one or two exceptions, casts of chalk fossils in flint, and have apparently been collected from the surface of the soil, or from the loose |