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TRANSACTIONS

AYATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

VOLUME II.

TEANSACTIONS

OF THE

WATFORD

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

\ I
HERTFORDSHIRE FIELD CLUB.

EDITED BT JOHN HOPKINSON, F.L.S., F.G.S.

VOLUME XL

OcTOBEE, 1877, TO July, 1879.

WATFORD :
SOLD AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, QUEEN'S ROAD.

LONDON :
DAVID BOGUE, 3, ST. MARTIN'S PLACE, W.C.

1880.

0'

n%^\

HERTFORD:

PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN AND SONS.

CONTENTS.

1. Famous Trees in Hertfordshire. By the Rev. Caxox

Gee, D.D. (With 3 woodcuts.) 1

2. The Birds of our District. By Jonx E. Littleboy . . 17

3. Notes on Birds observed near Hitchin. By James H.

TUKE 33

4. Further Notes on Our Birds. By John E. Littleboy . . 35

5. Report on Phenological Observations in Hertfordshire in

1876. By JoHx HoPKiNsox, F.L.S., etc., Hon. Sec. 37

6. The Products of Hertfordshire. By the Rev. James C.

Clutteebijck, M.A 41

7. Anniversary Address. By the President, Alfred T.

Brett, M.D 49

8. On British Butterflies. By the Rev. C. M. Perkins, M.A. 63

9. Notes for Observations of Injurious Insects. By Eleanor

A. Oemerod, F.M.S. (With 12 woodcuts.) .. .. 77

10. Notes on Economic Entomology. By Eleanor A.

Ormerod, F.M.S. (With 1 woodcut.) 84

1 1 . Meteorological Observations taken at Cassiobury House

from January to April, 1876. By the Right Hon.

the Eakl of Essex 89

12. Meteorological Observations taken at Holly Bank,

Watford, during the half-year ending 31st August,

1877. By John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.M.S., etc.,
Hon. Sec 91

13. Report on the Rainfall in Hertfordshire in 1877. By

John Hopkinson 97

14. Report on Phenological Observations in Hertfordshire in

1877. By John HopxiNsoN 101

15. The Physical Characteristics of Minerals. By James U.

Harford 104

16. Notes on the May-fly. By Peter Hood, M.I). (With a

Coloured Plate.) 107

17. Miscellaneous Notes and Observations Ill

VI CONTENTS,

PAGE

18. The Eulborne and Gadc, with Notes on the Pish of the

two llivcrs. By John E. LiTTLEBOY 113

19. The Oni!,in and Present Distribution of the British Flora.

By tiic Eev. George Henslow, M.A., F.L.8., P.G.S. 129

20. Notes on the Botany of the Experimental Grass Plots at

Rothamsted, Herts. By John J. Willis 140

21. Notes on Birds observed in 1878. By John E. Littleboy. 143

22. Poisons not always Poisons. By Professor Attfield,

Ph.D., F.C.S. (With 3 woodcuts.) 147

23. Miscellaneous Notes and Observations 156

24. Anniversary Address. By the President, Alfred T.

Brett, M.D 157

25. The Study of Geology. By J. Logan Lobley, P.G.S.,

F.R.G.S 171

26. Bees and Bee- Keeping. By the Rev. Herbert R.

Peel, M.A 183

27. Reduction of Meteorological Observations. By AYilliah

Marriott, E.M.S 197

28. Meteorological Observations taken at Wansford House,

Watford, during the year 1878. By John Hopetnson,
E.L.S., E.M.S., etc., Hon. Sec 209

29. Report on the Rainfall in Hertfordshire in 1878. By

John Hopkinson 223

30. Report on Phenological Observations in Hertfordshire in

1878. By John Hopkinson 229

31. Remarks on the Winter of 1878-79. By William

Marriott, P.M. S 237

32. On the Recent Discovery of Silurian Rocks in Hertford-

shire, and their Relation to the Watei'-bearing Strata
of the London Basin. By John Hopkinson, P.L.S.,
P.G.S., Hon. Sec. (With a Plate.) 241

33. Miscellaneous Notes and Observations 249

Index, etc 253

Proceedings, October, 1877, to July, 1879, pp. ix-lx.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATES.

I. The May Fly. — Ephemera vulgata .. .. To face]). 107

II. Well-sections in the Loudon Basin reaching Palaeozoic

Eocks Toface]).2n

■WOODCUTS.

The Lion Oak in Hatfield Park

• • •

.

7

Oak in Hatfield Park, measuring 33 feet in circumference .

11

Royal Oaks in Hatfield Park .

12

Psila JRosce

78

Mamestra Brassicco

78

Pier is Urassicce . .

. 79

Agriotes ohscurus

79

Tephritis Onopordinis .

80

Athalia spinarum

80

Chlorops tceniopus

81

Cephus piyginceus

81

Cecidomya Tritici

82

Sir ex gig as

82

Colias Edusa

82

Abraxas grossulariata .

83

Colorado beetle — Doryphora decemlineata

. 87

Mite from extract of dandelion

. 149

,, ,, colocynth

. 149

V ,, I^^i

Lx-vomi

ca

. 149

Dates of publication of the several parts contained in this volume

Part 1.
2.
3.

Pages 1-48 July, 1878.

49-88, and ix-xvi Dec. 1878.

89-112, and xvii-xxiv March, 1879.

113-156, and xxv-xxxii June, 1879.

157-196, and xxxiii-xl Sept. 1879.

197-236, and xli-xlviii Dec. 1879.

237-252, and xlix-lx April, 1880.

253-260, and i-viii June, 1880.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

WATFOKD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Oedinaky Meeting, 18th October, 1877.

Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The President, on taking the Chair, stated that the meeting had
been deferred from the second Thursday in the month, the 11th
inst., owing to the Rev. Dr. (iee, who had consented to give the
opening lecture of the session, having had an engagement on that
evening.

Mr. Henry Adcock, Queen's Road, Watford ; Mr. Oscar Clayton,
Grove Cottage, Heathbourne, Bushey Heath ; Mr. William Ransom,
Fairfield, Hitchin; Mr. George Stone, Cassio Bridge, Watford; and
Mr. George Turnbull, F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., M.I.C.E., Rose Hill,
Abbots Langley, were elected Members of the Society.

The following lecture was delivered : —

"Famous Trees in Hertfordshire." By the Rev. Canon Gee,
D.D. {Vide page 1.)

Mr. Matthew Moggridge said that he had always taken a great interest in
trees, had long practised both modes of measuring their height now Laid
before them, and could vouch for the accuracy and ease with which they could
be carried out without any abstruse calculations. The case of beheading trees
that had been alluded to recalled to his mind those beautiful oaks in Richmond
Park (Surrey). They were beheaded by order of George the Third, early in his
reign, to give them eventually a more picturesque appearance. They were
beautiful trees certainly, but the few which had escaped beheading were, to his
mind, much more beautiful, and for this amongst other reasons, that they were
more true to nature.

The President said that he had requested Mr. Heather to measure the lime
tree at Cassiobury which Lord Essex had told him was the first lime tree planted
in this part of the country ; and he had found the circumference, at three feet
above the ground, to be 17 feet 10 inches, and the heiglit about 100 feet. He
suggested that the word " wych " in wych-elm might have been the name for a
coffin, as elm was used for making coffins, and he inquired as to the position of the
King and Queen beeches at Ashi-idge.

Dr. Gee said that the beeches at Ashridge were on the right front of the
house. They might easily be identified, as they had a nimiber of names cut on
them. With regard to " wych " being a box for the dead, he could only say that
in the oldest quotation in which the word was mentioned it was as a box for
cheese.

VOL. IL — PT. II. B

X PROCEEDINGS OP THE

The President then, on behalf of himself and other members
of the Society, presented to the lionoraiy Secretary an elegant
drawing-room clock and side ornaments. In the course of a
complimentary speech he said that most of the members present
knew that Mr. John Hopkinsou might be regarded as the founder
of the Society, and that as he had now secured for himself a help-
mate — a lady who had distinguished herself in the field of botany —
it was thought a very suitable time to give him some token of their
regard and esteem. The subscribers were much indebted to Mr.
J. E. Littleboy, who had kindly acted as secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Hopkinson briefly thanked the subscribers for their very
handsome present, and Dr. Brett for the kind way in which he had
alluded to his labours for the Society.

Oedinaet Meeting, 8th November, 1877.
Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The following communications were read : —

1. " The Birds of Our District." By John E. Littleboy. ( Vide
p. 17.)

2. A letter from Mr. George Booper, F.Z.S., to the President,
dated 29th October, 1877, on Birds observed near "Watford.

Mr. Eooper stated that he had seen no really rare birds in this neighbourhood.
The game keepers, and more wickedly foolish still, the gardeners, destroyed
them. Of the less common birds he had a pair of hawfinches [Coccothransies
vulgaris) for a long time in his garden. They haunted an old quince tree, but
it was cut down, and they disappeared. A pair of nuthatches {tiitta ccesia)
might frequently be seen running up and down the trunk of a cedar before his
dining-room windows. These birds built in the cavity of a tree, and if, as
generally happened, the hole was too large for their approval, they plastered it
up in the most artistic manner. He had often seen the red-backed shrike
{Latiius colhirio) about Oxhey Wood, and once when hunting he had seen a
pair of buzzards {Buteo vulgaris) in a wood near Stevenage. Their congener
the kite {Milvus ictinns) was nearly extinct. The last he had seen was about
fifteen years since, near Hertford. A merganser [Mergus serrator) was shot at
Otterspool some years ago and sent to him. He was absent and his cook di-essed
it ! Green woodpeckers {Gccinus viridis) were occasionally seen in Cassiobury,
but not being "game birds" Forsdyke the keeper shot them. He thought that
the bustard {Otis tarda) had been practically long extinct. A solitary male
specimen appeared last year on Mr. Appleby's estate in Norfolk. He went to
great expense in procuring " a help meet for him," and the pair were shot in
the course of a week and set up by the talented taxidermist of the neighbour-
hood !

3. ''Notes on Birds observed near Hitchin." By James H.
Tuke. ( Vide p. 33.)

Mr. John Evans, F.E.S., said that he could add one or two birds to Mr.
Littleboy's list, which were shot, unfortunately, in his own neighbourhood. One
was the bittern [Botaurus stdlaris) which be remembered being shot, 30 years
ago, at Boxmoor. In his own garden a godwit {Liiiwsa lapponica) was found,
which unfortunately died. He also remembered a quail [Coitumix comnnaus)
being shot in his neighbourhood. There were a few matters he might mention in
illustration of the habits of birds. He was not quite certain whether it had been
noticed in this neighbourhood that crocuses were cut off in the early spring.

"WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. XI

Some years ago a certain number of I/ondcm sparrows made the discovery — to
them perfectly new ' that at the base of the crocus there is a small globule of
honey. They cut off all the flowers ihey came across; and the sparrows as tar
down in the country as this had now found it out. It was a very curious
instance of the way in which birds hud the power of imparting knowledge to other
birds. "With regard to the removal of eggs by the partridge, he could not help
thinking that they must have been removed by some other two-legged animal.
We had in this district two varieties of the partridge — the French and the
English — and he was inclined to think that the French variety was gaining
ground, there being a larger number now to be found than formerly. He
thought that the idea of Dr. Johnson, as to swallows" conglobulating " together,
was derived by him from books rather than from nature, — thei'e was some
mention in history of swallows descending to the bottom of Lough Neagh,
in Ireland, and being dragged up by fishermen in their nets. There was one very
curious feature with regard to starlings, namely that, although not migratory
birds, they had a way of assembling in the autumn in the same maimer as
migratory birds ; and it had been suggested that it was probably the remnant of
habits they had when the climate was more severe than at present, and they had
to migrate, as they were not under the necessity of doing now. That brought
their minds to oneof the geological features in connexion with this paper, and
he thought they would all acknowledge the truth of the concluding remarks
relative to the view we take of creative power.

Numerous stuffed specimens of birds, chiefly the rarer birds
which had been found in Hertfordshire, were exhibited by Mr.
Barraud, Mr. C. E. Fry, Mr. Littleboy, Mr. George Willshin, and
the President.

Ordinary Meeting, 13th December, 1877.
Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The Eight Honourable the Earl of Clarendon, the Grove, Wat-
ford, was elected a Member of the Society.

The following communications were read : —

1. "Further Notes on our Birds." ByJ.E. Littleboy. (F/VZep.SS.)

The President said that after the remarks of Mr. Evans, at the previous meet-
ing of the Society, as to the possibility of partridges carrying their eggs, his
daughters reminded him that some doves they had kept carried their eggs about
with their feet ; so that it was very probable that partridges carried their eggs in
a similar manner. The Council had decided that a register of birds frequenting
the county should be kept, and as Mr. Littleboy had undertaken to be registrar,
he would ask him to describe the method that would be pursued.

Mr, Littleboy said that in preparing his paper it had occurred to him that it
would be desirable to have a systematic record of the birds known to visit the
county. The only way in which this could be satisfactorily accomplished was by
one of the members of the Society acting as registrar and correspondent. The
Council had requested him to act as registrar, and he shoidd be pleased to receive
from the members, or from any one else, particulars of the visits of the more
common as well as of the rarer birds.

2. " Report on Phenological Phenomena in Hertfordshire in
1876." By John Hopkinson, F.L.S., etc., Hon. Sec. {Vide p. 37.)

Mr. Littleboy said that the question of the time of flowering of plants was
of a very similar character to that of the periodical visits of birds. It became
really a "portion of the history of the year ; and as year after year went by, the
character of the seasons was to some extent ascertained by the time of flowering
of plants, appearance of insects, and visits of birds. He should like to know

Xll PROCEEDIXGS OF THE

how the word " early " was applied to the singing of the thrush on the 2.5th of
December. He had noticed the extraordinary manner in whicli the thrush was
singing at the present time, and had never noticed such a thing before.

Mr. Hopkinson explained that if certain plants, such as the snowdrop, which
usually flowered in January, came out before January, he should consider that
they flowered unusually early; and so in the case of the birds, the thrush usually
began to sing early in January, but in the winter of 1875-6 it was first heard
near the end of December. He had entered it in the 1876 report, considering it
to be an unusually early phenomenon pertaining to that report, though in this
instance occurring a week before the end of 1875.

Donations to the Libkaey in 1877.

Title. Donor.

Attfield, Prof. John. Chemistry: General, Medical,
and Pharmaceutical. 6th edition. 8vo. London,
1875

Capel, C. C. Trout Culture. 8vo. London, 1877

Gannett, Henry. List of Elevations West of the
Mississippi River. (U.S. Geol. Surv.) Svo. Wash-
ington, 1877 .

Geographical Magazine. Vol. iv. 4to. London, 1877

Henslow, Eev. J. S. Descriptive and Phy.nological
Botany. 8vo. London, 1839 . . . .

Hitchcock, Prof. E. The Religion of Geology and
its connected Sciences. Svo. London, 1851 .

Hudleston, W. H., and J. F. Walker. On the
Distribution of the Brachiopoda in the Oolitic
Strata of Yorkshire. {Proc. Yorkshire Fhilos. Soc.
1877)

Jackson, W. H. Descriptive Catalogue of the Photo-
graphs of the United States Geological Survey of
the Territories for the years 1869 to 1875. 2nd
edition, (f. S. Geol. Surv.) Svo. Washington,
1877

Jeffreys, Dr. J. Gwyn, and Dr. W. B. Carpenter.
The Valorous Expedition. 8vo. London, 1S76 .

Lesquereux, Leo. Supplement to Fifth Annual Report
of the U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey
of the Territories. Report on Fossil Flora. ( U. S.
Geol. Suiv.) 8vo. Washington, 1877 .

Lyell, Sir Charles. The Principles of Geology. 9th
Edition. Svo. London, 1853

Marriott, W. Table for facilitating the determination
of the Dew-point from Observations of the Dry- and
Wet-bulb Thermometers. London, 1874

. Remarks on the Reduction of Barometric

Readings, with a form of Table for combining the
Corrections for Index Error, Temperature, and
Altitude. (Quart. Journ. Meteorological Soc. 187f>).

Meteorological Society. Repoi-t of the Council for
1861. Svo. London, 1862

Microscopical, Monthly, Journal. Vols, xv-xvi.
8vo. London, 1876

Morris, Prof. J. The Geology of Croydon. 8vo.
Croydon, 1877

Naturalist. Vols, i-iii. 8vo. London and Hudders-
field, 1865-67

The Author.
Dr. A. T. Brett.

Prof. F. V. Hayden.
Lieut. R. B. Croft.

Mr. J. Hopkinson.

The Authors.

Prof. F. V. Hayden.
Br, Gwyn Jeffreys.

Prof. F. V. Hayden.
Mr. J. Hopkinson.

The Author.

Dr. A. T. Brett.
Lieut. R. B. Croft.
The Author.
3[r. J. Hopkinson.

WATFOED NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Title. Donor.

Scott, R. H. Instructions in the use of Meteorological

Instruments. 8vo. Loudon, 1875. . . . 3[r. J. MopJiiiison.
Science Gossip, 1877. 8vo. London, 1877 . . Tlie Publishers.
Symons, G. J. Eeports of the Eaiufall Committee of

the British Association, for 186-5, and 1870-75.

8vo. London, 1863-76 The Author.

. Monthly 3Ieteorological Magazine. Vol. xii,

8vo. London, 1877 . ' The Editor.

Symons, G. J., C. Greaves, and J. Evans. Eainfall and

Evaporation. [Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers, 1876 ) . Mr. John Evans.
United States Geological and Geographical

Survey of the Territories. Bulletin. Vol. ii,

Nos. 2-6. Vol. iii, Nos. 1-3. Svo. Washington,

1876-77 Prof. F. V. Hayden.

■ . The Grotto Geyser of the Yellowstone

National Park. Folio. Washington, 1877 .
Warwickshire Natural History and Arch^o-

LOGiCAL Society. Annual Eeports for 1863 and

1868-73. 8vo. Warwick, 1864-74 . . . Mr. J. Hopkinson.
Warwickshire Naturalists' and Archjeologists'

Field Club. Proceedings for 1867, 1868, and

1871-73. Svo. Warwick, 1868-74
Yarrell, W. a History of British Birds. 4th edition.

Eevised by Alfred Newton. Parts 1-6. 8vo.

London, 1871-3 Mr. A. T. Barraud.

PUBLICATIOXS OF SOCIETIES RECEIVED IN EXCHANGE.

Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. Proceedings.

Vol. iii. No. 4. 8vo. Bath, 1877.
Bedfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club. Transactions

for 1875-76. Svo. Bedford, 1877.
Belfast Natural History* and Philosophical Society. Proceedings for

1875-76. 8vo. Belfast, 1877.
Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society. Proceedings for 1875-76.

Svo. Brighton, 1877.
Boston (U.S.) Society of Natural History. Proceedings. Vol. xvii. Parts 1,

2. Vol. xviii. Parts 3, 4. Svo. Boston, 1875-77.
Chester Society of Natural Science. Annual Eeport for 1876-77. Svo.

Chester, 1877.
Croydon Microscopical Club. Eeports for 1870 and 1872-75. Svo. Croy-
don, 1871-77.
. The Antiquity of Man. By Prof. T. Eupert Jones. Svo.

Croydon, 1877.
Eastbourne Natural History Society'. Papers. Session 1876-77. 4to.

Eastbourne, 1877.
Edinburgh Botanical Society. Transactions and Proceedings. Vol. xii,

Parts 1, 2. Svo. Edinburgh, 1874-75.
Edinburgh Geological Society. Transactions. Vol. iii. Part 1. Svo.

Edinburgh, 1877.
Edinburgh. Eoyal Physical Society. Proceedings. Session 1874-75.

Svo. Edinburgh, 1876.
Entomological Society. Proceedings. 1871-76. Svo. London, 1872-77.
. Catalogue of British Neuroptera. By E. McLachlan. Svo. London,

1870.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE

Entomological Society. Catalogue of British Ilymenoptera. Aculcata. By

F. Smith, ib. 1871.
. . Chrysididae, Ichneumonidse, BraconidiX), and Evaniidse.

By the Eev. T. A. Marshall, ib. 1872.

Oxyura. By the Rev. T. A. Marshall, ib. 1873.

. Catalogue of British Ileraiptera. Iletoropoda and Ilonioptera —

Cicadaria and Phyththires. By J. W. Douglas and John Scott. ih. 1876.

Geological Society. Abstracts of the Proceedings. Session 1876-77. 8vo.
London, 1877.

Geologists' Association. Proceedings. Vol. iv, No. 9. Vol. v, Nos. 1, 2.
8vo. London, 1876.

. Annual Report for 1876. 8vo. •«/». 1877.

Glasgow Natural History Society. Proceedings. Vol. iii. Part 1. 8vo.
Glasgow, 1876.

Glasgow, Philosophical Society of. Proceedings. Vol. x. No. 2. Svo.
Glasgow, 1877.

Glasgow Society' of Field Naturalists. Transactions. Part 5. Svo.
Glasgow, 1877.

Leeds Naturalists' Club and Scientific Association. Annual Report for
1876-77. Svo. Leeds, 1877.

Liverpool Geological Society. Proceedings. Vol. iii, Part 2. Svo.
Liverpool, 1877.

Manchester Field-Naturalists' and Arch^ologists' Society. Proceed-
ings for 1876. Svo. Manchester, 1877.

Manchester Geological Society. Transactions. Vol. xiv. Parts 6-14.
Svo. Manchester, 1877.

Marlborough College Natural History Society. Report for the half-
year ending Christinas, 1876 ; and Midsummer, 1877. Svo. Marlborough,
1877.

Meteorological Society. Quarterly Journal. New Series. Vol. iii, Nos.
20-23. Svo. London, 1876-77.

Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society. Transactions. Vol. ii. Part
3. Svo. Norwich, 1877.

QuEKETT Microscopical Club. Journal. Vol. iv, Nos. 33-34. Svo. London.
1877.

RuGBY' School Natural History Society. Report for 1876. Svo. Rugby,
1877.

Smithsonian Institution. Annual Reports for 1875 and 1876. Svo. Wash-
ington (U.S.), 1876-77.

Somersetshire Natural History and Arch^ological Society. Proceed-
ings. New Series. Vol. ii. Svo. Taunton, 1877.

Warwickshire Natural History and Arch^ological Society. Annual
Report for 1876. Svo. Warwick, 1877.

West London Scientific Association and Field Club. Proceedings. Vol. i.
Part 4. Svo. London, 1877.

. Annual Report for 1876-77. Svo. /*. 1877.

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. Magazine.
Vol. xvi. No. 48. Vol. xvii, Nos. 49-60. Svo. Devizes, 1876-77.

Oedinakt Meetestg, 10th Januaky, 1878.

Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The Rev. John Aiken Ewing, M.A., "Westmill, Buntingford ;
Mrs. Joseph Hill, Frogmore House, Watford ; and Mrs. Speddirig,
St. Peter's, St. Albans, were elected Members of the Society.

WAXFOED NATURAL HISTOET SOCIETY. XV

The following paper was read : —

" The Products of Hertfordshire." By the Eev. James C. Clut-
terbuck, M.A. {Vide-p.4\.)

A water-colour drawing of the "Wymondley Chestnut, referred to
in the paper, was presented to the Society by Mr. Clutterbuck.

Professor John Attfield and Mr. C. A. Booth were appointed

Auditors of the Accounts for 1877.

AN'NTJAL MEETING, 14th FEBEUAiiT, 1878.

Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

Mr. Allan T. Barraud, St. John's Villas, Watford ; Mr. Thomas
Meadows Clutterbuck, Stanmore ; Mrs. R. B. Croft, Fanhams Hall,
Ware ; and Mr. James H. Tuke, Hitchin, were elected Members of
the Society.

The Report of the Council for 1877, and the Treasurer's Account
of Income and Expenditure, were read and adopted.

The President delivered an Address. ( Vide p. 49.)

The Balloting-glass having been removed, and the lists examined
by the Scrutineers, the following gentlemen were declared to have
been duly elected as the Officers and Council for the ensuing
year : —

Fresidenf.—Alired T. Brett, M.D.

Vice-Presidents. — Arthur Cottam, E.R.A.S. ; John Evans,
D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.G.S., F.M.S. ; J. Logan Lobley, F.G.S.,
F.R.G.S. ; R. A. Pry or, B.A., F.L.S.

Treasurer. — Charles F. Humbert, F.G.S.

Honor ar If Secretary and Librarian. — John Hopkinson, F.L.S. ,
F.G.S. , F.R.M.S., F.M.S.

Honorary Curator. — W. Lepard Smith.

Other Members of tJie Council. — Prof. John Attfield, Ph.D.,
F.C.S. ; R. Russell Carew, F.R.G.S., F.C.S. ; Lieut. R. B. Croft,
R.N., F.L.S., F.R.M.S. ; the Right Honourable the Lord Ebury ;
the Right Honourable the Earl of Essex; the Rev. Canon Gee,
D.D. ;^James U. Harford; J. E. Harting, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; J.
Gwyn Jeffreys, LL.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S. ; John E. Littleboy;
the Rev. C. M. Perkins, M.A. ; Frank W. Silvester.

It was then resolved —

That the thanks of the Society be given to the Earl of Essex,
retiring from the office of Vice-President ; and to Mr. E. M.
Chater, Mr. George Chippindale, and Mr. Thomas Heather, re-
tiring from the Council.

The thanks of the Society were also accorded to the Honorary
Secretary.

xvi proceedings of the

Repoht of the Council for 1877.

In presenting their third Annual Report, the Council of the
Watford Natural History Society and Hertfordshire Field Club
have the pleasure of announcing that the Society continues to
prosper, the number of its members increasing, and the papers
read contributing materially to the knowledge of the Natural
History of the county.

During the year 19 Ordinary Members and two Honorary
Members have been elected ; four members have compounded for
their annual subscription ; ten members have resigned ; and the
Council regret that they have to announce the loss of two members
by death — Mr. James Cardinal Harford and Mr. Isaac Ridgway.

The census of the Society at the end of the years 1876 and 1877
was as follows : —

1876 1877

Honorary Members 8 10

Life Members 15 19

Annual Subscribers 137 140

Total 160 169

Three parts of the Society's ' Transactions ' have been printed
and distributed to th^ embers duritg the year, making eight
parts in all ; and it is ;ended to conclude the first volume with
the ninth part, which will complete the record of the proceedings
of the Society to the end of last session.

The following are the principal papers and lectures which have
been read or delivered during the year 1877 : —

Jan. 11. — Fisb-hatcbing and Fisb-culture in Hertfordsbire ; by Alfred T.

Brett, M.D. With Notes on Pisciculture by Peter Hood, M.D.

• . Notes and Queries on the River Cohie ; by A. T. Brett, M.D.

Feb. 8. — Anniversary Address; by the President, John Evans, F.R.S.,

F.S.A., F.G.S.. F.M.S., etc.
March 8. — The Fertilisation of Plants; by the Rev. George Henslow, M.A.,

F.L.S., F.G.S.
April 12. — Instructions for taking Meteorological Observations ; by William

Marriott, F.M.S.

. Meteorological Observations taken at Holly Bank, Watford,

during the year ending 28th Februai-y, 1877; by John
Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.M.S., Hon. Sec.

. Report on the Rainfall in Hertfordsbire in 1876 ; by the

Honorary Secretary.

. Notes on a Remarkable Storm in Hertfordshire, April 4th, 1877 ;

by Lieut. R. B. Croft, R.N., F.L.S.
May 10. — On Microscopic Fungi ; by E. M. Chater.

. Notes on some Hertfordshire Plants; by R. A. Pryor, B.A.,

F.L.S.
Oct. 11. — Famous Trees in Hertfordshire ; by the Rev. Canon Gee, D.D.
Nov. 8.— The Birds of Our District ; by John E. Littleboy.

. Notes on Birds observed near Hitchin; by J. H. Tuke.

Dec. 13. — Further Notes on Our Birds; by J. E. Littleboy.

. Report on Phenological Observations in Hertfordshire in 1876 ;

by the Honorary Secretary.

Several short communications, which appear in the ' Transac-
tions' under the heading of " Miscellaneous Notes and Observations,"

WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETT. XVll

have also been read. These treat almost entirely of the Botany
and Zoology of the county, subjects to which, as will be seen from
the above list, a considerable amount of attention has been paid
during the year.

It may be here pointed out that, if we exclude the short notes
from our consideration, in 1875 — the first year of the Society's
existence — geology and botany were almost the only subjects upon
which papers were read; in 1876, geology and meteorology, there
not being a single botanical or zoological paper; and in 1877,
meteorology, botany, and zoology, no geological paper having been
communicated. Taking therefore the three years together, each of
the sciences for the advancement and study of which the Society
was founded has received a fair amount of attention. Little has
however been done with the microscope — Mr. Chafer's paper on
"Microscopic Fungi," and a lecture by Mr. Cottam on "Micro-
scopical Mounting," being the only communications during the
three years on any subject for the elucidation of which the micro-
scope is necessary.

An attempt was made in the spring to hold a series of extra
informal meetings for the examination of microscopic objects, but
so few microscopes were brought, and the attendance of members
was so small, that the experiment can; /be said to have been
successful. The microscopic object caoiiiet, also, purchased in
1876, does not yet contain a single object. Several have been
promised, and if a small collection of slides could be got together it
would doubtless encourage members to add to this nucleus any
duplicates they may have, and some perhaps to mount objects, or
to purchase them, specially for the Society.

The meteorological and phonological reports for 1876 have been
presented, and will soon be in the hands of the members. A form
for entering the returns of the rainfall has been prepared, and is
sent to about 25 observers in the county ; and another for the
registration of periodical natural phenomena is now in the press,
and copies will be sent to any members who will assist in the
work.

Although the year was an unusually wet one, the rainfall
having exceeded that of the two previous years, in both of which
it was considerably above the average, the weather only prevented
one of the projected Field Meetings from being carried out. This,
the last of the season, was intended to have been held at Elstree
Eeservoir on the Hth of July, in conjunction with the Quekett
Microscopical Club. At the Field Meetings which took place the
following localities were visited : —

May 5. — Stanmore Common.

26. — Oxhey* Woods and Pinner.

June 16. — Hitchin.

30.— Cassiobury Park.

For hospitality kindly afforded at the Field Meetings the Society
is indebted to five of its members— ]\Ir. William Verini, Mr.
William A. Tooke, Mr. William Ransom, Mr. Joseph Pollard, and

VOL. II. — PT. III. C

XVIU PEOCEEDINGS OF THE

your President, Dr. Brett. To the Earl of Essex the Society is
also indebted for his kindness in allowing the members to go over
his house and grounds at the meeting in Cassiobury Park, and
for his notes on the more remarkable trees which were examined
on that occasion. At the Hitchin meeting, which was the first
which has occupied an entire day, the kindness and hospitality of
Mr. Hansom deserve special acknowledgment. He provided a
sumptuous luncheon for a numerous party — the meeting being
largely attended — and also carriages to convey the party to Lilley
Hoo and the Chalk hills north of Hitchin.

The Council have the gratification of stating that all the Field
Meetings were well attended. At each meeting a larger party
assembled than at the one preceding — the meeting in Cassiobury
Park, at which about 80 of the members were present, being the
most numerously attended of any which have been held since the
Society was founded.

The financial condition of the Society continues to be satisfactory.
The expenditure during the year was about the same as in the two
previous years, and there is a considerable balance in hand. In
addition to this balance the sum of £22 10s. is due to the Society
for arrears of subscriptions, principally for 1877, and the balance
sheet shows that, although the number of members has increased
since the previous year, the amount received for subscriptions is
£11 less. The sum of £100 has been invested in the purchase of
Consols, which sum exceeds by £5 the amount received for life
compositions.

The donations to the Society's library have been both numerous
and important. They consist principally of the publications of
scientific societies which have been received in exchange for your
'Transactions.' Twenty volumes have been bound during the
year, and there are altogether about 120 volumes in the library,
nearly all of which have been acquired by donation and exchange.
These are all available for circulation, and in addition to them
there is a considerable number of unbound pamphlets and portions
of the proceedings of scientific societies, etc., which will in time
form a valuable Natural History library.

It is to be regretted that on account of the books not being
readily accessible but little use is made of them ; but the Council
hope shortly to be able to make arrangements by which the library
belonging to the Society may become of more general service to
the members.*

For the use of the rooms in which the evening meetings are
held, and for other facilities afforded to the Society, the Council
have again to express their thanks to the Committee of the Watford
Public Library.

* These arrangements were made by, and announced at, the following meeting
— see page xx.

WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Income and Expenditure during the year ending 31st December, 1877.

Dr. £

Balance 18

Subscriptions for 1876 2

„ 1877 68

Entrance Fees 10

Life Compositions 20

Sale of ' Transactions '

s, d.

9

8

10

10

13

£110 2 8

Subscriptions received for
1878 10

Cr. £

Books and Stationery 2

Advertising

Printing ' Transactions ' 33 18

Miscellaneous Printing 8

Reporting 2

Eent — Watford Public

Library 5

Attendance at ditto 1

Expenses of April Meeting 1

Library 5

Desk slope

Postages 7

Sundry gmall expenses 1

Amount transferred to Capi-
tal Account 25

Balance 15

«.

d.

6

7

8

18

6

2

2

6

1

13

6

10

19

8

2

9

12

8

£110 2 8

Investment in Consols,

March, 1877 100

Audited and found correct, / JOHN ATTFIELD,
Februarxj 2ud, 1878, ( CHAS. A. BOOTH.

Ordinary Meeting, 10th March, 1878.

Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

Mr. Henry "Wyman, Hemel Hempstead, was elected a Member
of the Society.

The following paper was read : —

" On British Butterflies." By the Rev. C. M. Perkins, M.A.
{Vide]). 63.)

Mr. Arthur Cottam gave some particulars of his own experience in collecting.
With regard to the female orange-tip {Anthocaris Cardaiuines) being mistaken
for the Bath white [Pieris Daplidice), he remembered an instance of the reverse —
Daplidice mistaken for the female Cardumines. He had had the pleasure of taking
a male Daplidice at Margate in 1868, and a few minutes later he took Argynnis
Lathonia and about twenty specimens of Volias Eyale. Although this was usually
rare, it was sometimes as abundant as C. Edusa. In 1868 he saw a good many on
the South Coast, although none had been seen there for some years before. He
believed that Hipparchia Semele was chiefly found in the Chalk districts. It
settled with its wings closed, and in this state it could scarcely be distinguished
from the chalk. Several specimens of the Camberwell beauty ( Vanessa Antiopa)
were seen in the neighbourhood of Hoddesdun in 1875, and it had certainly been
also seen in Middlesex.

Mr. Sydney Humbert said that he had been told by his brother, who had
lived in Spain, that the swallow-tail {Feucedanuin pulustre) was as common
there as the cabbage whites {Fieris Brassicw and Jtapce) were in England, and
that it flew in the air like a bird, rising to a great height. He had brought a few
specimens of it to show, and a few others which, though very scarce in England,
were just as common abroad. He mentioned an instance of the Camberwell
beauty having been seen by a farmer in a harvest-field on the eastern side of
the county.

XX PROCEEDINGS OF THE

The President inquired whether different species of butterflies could he dis-
tinguished by their scales. He quite agreed with Mr. Perkins that it would be
desirable to have a record kept of the rarer insects which might be found in the
county, and suggested that he (Mr. Perkins) might act as registrar.

The Author replied that many, if not most, species of butterflies could be dis-
tinguished by their scales, when these were examined under the microscope.
He would willingly undertake the task of registering any observations on insects
that might be sent to him.

The President announced that the Council had arranged with
the assistant-librarian of the Public Library that members might
exchange books any week-day, from 3 to 5, and from 7 to 10 p.m.

Ordinary Meeting, 11th April, 1878.
Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The following lecture was delivered : —

" On the Physical Characteristics of Minerals." By James U.
Harford. {Vide p. 104.)

Specimens of minerals offering examples of all the different
characteristics mentioned, and models of crystals, etc., were ex-
hibited, and some experiments illustrative of the lecture were made
by the Author.

The Honorary Secretary announced that the first donation of
microscopical slides had been received since the previous meeting,
five slides having been presented to the Society by Lieut. Croft,
F.L.S. He hoped other members would soon follow the example
set them by Mr. Croft.

Field Meeting, 4rH May, 1878.
Cassiobury Park, Temple of Pan, and Langleybury.

A numerous party, with a considerable majority of ladies,
assembled at the principal entrance to Cassiobury Park at 3 o'clock,
and, some in carriages, some on foot, proceeded through the Park
to the Swiss Cottage.

As this was visited at the last field meeting in 1877, its rustic
grounds did not long delay the party. After crossing the river and
canal, and again entering the Park, the magnificent avenue of
lime trees, and the avenue of wych elms, about three-quarters of a
mile in length, which crosses it at right angles, were inspected and
admired.

The members then left the Park, and, wending their way along
the picturesque wood- walks of the AVhippendale valley, crossed the
Rickmansworth road near the gamekeeper's cottage. Availing
themselves of the kind permission of the Earl of Clarendon, they
now plunged into the charming woods which extend in a north-
westerly direction towards Chipperfield. After rambling for some
time in these woods, the party assembled for a short rest at the
Temple of Pan, where refreshments, which proved to be very

WATFOBD NATTJBAL HISTOEY SOCIETY. XXI

acceptable, "vrere very kindly provided by Mr. Littleboy, under
whose direction the arrangements of the day had been placed.

The Temple of Pan, perhaps better known among the surrounding
agricultural population as " Sheepshead Hall," is a rustic building
or summer house, apparently dedicated to the memory of the
grotesque Arcadian Deity whose name it bears. It is beautifully
situated, being surrounded on all sides by woods, and with wide
gi'ass glades, fringed by tall firs and other ornamental trees, con-
verging towards it from different directions. The exterior of the
building is decorated with a complete cornice composed of the
skulls and horns of rams ; and the interior is appropriately orna-
mented by drawings of shepherds and shepherdesses, Pandean pipes,
shepherds' crooks, and other sylvan appliances. A patch of Solomon's
seal {Pohjgonatum mtdtiflorum), the only rare botanical find of the
day, and possibly not here truly indigenous, was discovered within
sight of the Temple ; and purely white hyacinths, a sport fi'om the
common bluebell, were met with in considerable abundance.

Langleybury, the seat of Mr. William Jones Loyd, was next
visited, and by his direction the members were conducted by the
gardener through the grounds adjacent to the house. A fine old
cedar attracted special attention, and its dimensions were stated
to be: girth of trunk, 21 feet 3 inches; height, 105 feet; spread
of branches, 106 feet. The yew hedges, the tall hollies in the
rookery, and the beautiful beech tree near the Parsonage, were also
noticed ; and it was remarked that the cedar, the yew, the holly,
and the beech, appeared to find, in the gravels of this district, a
very congenial soil.

Mr. Littleboy then conducted the party across the Canal lock to
his residence near Hunton Bridge, and some time was spent in
examining his fernery, and in viewing his picturesque garden,
through which flows the river Gade, adding not a little to its
attractions.

The members were then entertained at tea by Mr. and Mrs.
Littleboy, after which, in the absence of the President, who had
been obliged to leave before tea, a vote of thanks to the host and
hostess was proposed by the Honorary Secretary and carried by
acclamation. The members then left for Watford by the Hemp-
stead Eoad.

Oedinaet Meeting, 9th Mat, 1878.
Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

Miss Johnson, Langley Hill, King's Langley, was elected a
Member of the Society.

The following commimications were read : —

1. "Meteorological Observations taken at Cassiobury House from
January to April, 1876." By the Eight Honourable the Earl of
Essex. ( Vide p. 89.)

XXll PROCEEDINGS OF THE

2. " Meteorological Observations taken at Holly T^ank, "Watford,
during the half-year ending 31st August, 1877." By John
Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.M.S., etc., Hon. Sec. [Vide p. 91.)

3. ''Heport on the Rainfall in Hertfordshire in 1877." By the
Honorary Secretary. {Vide p. 97.)

4. "Keport on Phenological Observations in Hertfordshire in
1877." By the Honorary Secretary. ( F/f/e p. 101.)

5. "Notes for Observations of Injurious Insects." By Eleanor
A. Ormerod, F.M.S. Communicated by the Honorary Secretaiy.
{Vide^. 11.)

6. "Notes on Economic Entomology." By Eleanor A. Ormerod.
Communicated by the Honorary Secretary. ( Vide p. 84.)

Field Meeting, 18th May, 1878.
Tyler's Hill, Chesham.

At various places beyond the northern limit of the London
Tertiary Basin outliers of the Lower Eocenes occur, ranging on the
whole in a line parallel with the margin of the main mass of which
they at one time formed a part. One of these, separated from the
main mass by a greater distance than is usually the case, is at
Tyler's Hill, or Cowcroft, as it is sometimes called, a mile and a
half to the east of Chesham. The nearest railway station is at
Boxmoor, and here, at about a quarter to three, a party consisting
of members of the Society and of the Geologists' Association
of London, assembled for the purpose of visiting this outlier under
the guidance of Mr. John Evans, D.C.L., F.R.S.

The distance being five miles each way, a wagonette was engaged
which the ladies of the party availed themselves of. An ascent by
Box Lane had first to be made, and for about a quarter of a mile
up the hill the Chalk was seen to come to the surface, sections
being exposed in several small pits, and in the road-side banks,
owing to the road being excavated to reduce its steepness.

On the higher ground the Chalk is covered for a considerable
distance with " brick-earth " and " elay-with-flints." This elevated
plateau, some 500 feet above sea-level, suddenly ends at Layhill
Common, which is approached by a steep descent to the Chalk,
here exposed by the erosion of a stream, no longer in existence,
which at one time must have joined the Chess near Flaunden.
From Layhill Common, where the Chalk is covered by glacial
gravel, there is a gentler rise of the ground towards the outlier,
which is conspicuous for some distance by the dense wood which
covers it. The presence of this wood seems to be entirely due to
the existence of the outlier of which Tyler's Hill is formed ; and
to this outlier the protection of the hill itself fx'om denudation is,
no doubt, also due. A chalk-pit and brickfields expose a complete
section of the hill from the London Clay down to the Chalk.

The following description of this section is given by Professor

"WATFOED NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. XXlll

Prestwicli in his paper on "The "Woolwich and Eeacling Series,"
communicated to the Geological Society in 1853.*

Feet.
Gravel, chiefly of flint-pebbles in claj", averages 4

Loudon Clay. \ *• ^^^"^ ^1?*^ ^'1^*^ ^ ^'^^ ""'^^^"^ '^^I'*'""^' ^^

( a. Layers ot laminated grey and brown clay 3

Basement Bed of the > c. Layer of imperfect scptaria full of fossils f 0^

London Clay, 3^ | h. Light brown sandy clay 2

feet. ( a. Flint-pebbles in clay 1

' h. Umber-coloured clay, in places slightly mottled

red and yellow 2

g. Fine siliceous sand, in places very white • 3

/. Light-coloured soft sandstone with an occasional

pebble — variable 1

e. Light-coloured siliceous sands with a few seams

Woolwich and Bead- j of grey clay, the lower part coarser, yellow,

iiio- Series, 31 feet. ' and brown 10

d. Laminated grey and yellow clay and sand, with

an under-seam of pebbles 1

c. Yellow and ash-coloured sand with seams of

grey clay 8

h. Grey clay laminated with sand 4

(_ a. Large unrolled flints, apparently white-coated 2

5U
Chalk To'

Several sections exposed in the brickfields at various parts of the
hill were examined, and at the chalk -pit Mr. John Evans drew
attention to the perfectly level surface of the Chalk, which seemed,
he said, to be a surface of marine denudation.

After returning to Boxmoor the chalk-pit on Rough Down, chiefly
known as the place from which Mr. Evans has obtained most of the
fossils of the Chalk-rock, was to have been visited, but tea proved
a greater attraction, and there was not time to spare for both ; so,
after only a distant view of the band of chalk-rock, which here
divides the Upper from the Lower Chalk, the party separated, most
of the members of the two societies leaving Boxmoor station by the
7-37 train for Watford and London.

PiELD Meeting, 1st June, 1878.
St. Alba>'s.

The object of this meeting was to collect, in conjunction with
members of the Quekett Microscopical Club, microscopic objects in
ponds in the neighbourhood of St. Albans.

For this purpose members of the two societies assembled at the
London and North- Western Station on the arrival of the train
from London and Watford at about half-past three, and, after
walking a short distance along the line, took a lane leading towards

* ' Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc.,' vol. x. p. 90.

t The Bitrupa plana abounds, together with Ostrea BeUovachia, a few Katica
glaucinoides, a Fusus, and teeth of Lamna.

XXIV PROCEEDINGS OF THE

New Barnes, finding on their way specimens of the moss Funaria
hygrornetrica, which forms such an interesting object under the
microscope, from the twisting of the peristome-teeth on the appli-
tion of moisture.

On arriving at New Barnes the party separated, some visiting
Mrs. "VVorley's gai-den, by her kind permission, and others collecting
microscopic objects in the adjacent ponds.

In the garden the fine old cedar standing in front of the house
first attracted attention. It is a very old tree, but its precise age
is not known. It has been much broken by storms, and every
fresh winter leaves its mark upon it. Under the guidance of the
gardener, Mr. Logan, under whose superintendence the garden has
been brought to its present picturesque state, the conservatory,
replete with handsome foliage and flowering plants, was next
visited, and then the out-door ferneries, rich in rare species of
ferns, were inspected. After noticing a few old chestnut and
beech, trees, which, had attained to handsome dimensions, and
paying a hurried visit to the vineries and hothouses, the party left
the garden to join those who were collecting in the ponds.

A path across the fields was then taken to St. Albans, and St.
Peter's Church was soon reached — the nearest route to Bernard's
Heath, which was next to be visited. On arrival here a few
interesting objects were collected in the various pools in and near
the brickfields, and then a narrow winding lane was followed to
the Redbourn Road. Crossing this road a further descent was
made to St. Michael's, and at Kingsbury"^ the party were enter-
tained at tea by Mr. and Mrs. Willshin.

After tea, which was served partly in the house and partly in
the garden, the members of the Quekett Club at once left to return
to London by the Midland line, while the rest of the party stayed
for some time for a stroll round the garden, and then took the
picturesque " Water- walk " to the North- Western Station for
Watford.

Tlie meeting was under the direction of Mr. Frank W. Silvester
and the Honorary Secretary.

* According to Chauncy (' Hist. Antiq. Herts,' p. 463) " The Maniiour of
Kingsbery" was "so termed from the Saxon Kmgs, who were the ancient
Possessors hereof, and often resided and kept their Court there." The identity
of the present spot, beautifully situated as it is on the banks of the river Ver
at the extreme west of St. Albans, with the site of the ancient palace, seems
proved by Chauncy's words. "There was," he says, "a stately Pallace that
belonged to the Castle of Kingsberry, scituated at the West End of the Town of
St. Albans, where the Saxon Kings delighted much." He then says that King
Etheldred sold to the Abbot and Monks of St. Albans " all the royal Manner of
Kingsbery, with the Parks and Woods belonging to it, excepting one small
Fortress near the Monastery, which the King would not suifer to be demolisht,
that the Marks of his royal House might not be forgotten." Traces of the
foundations of some of these buildings are still to be seen at the back of the
present house.

■^atfokd natural histoey society. xxv

Oedinaet Meeting, 13th June, 1878.

Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

Mr. James Vincent Elsden, B.Sc., F.C.S., North Crescent, Hert-
ford; Miss Selby and Miss Nellie Selby, Batler's Green, Aldenliam;
and Miss Stevenson, Chalk Hill, Bushey, were elected Members of
the Society.

The following communications were read : —

1. " ISTote on the Eecent Flood at "Watford." By the President.

Dr. Brett stated that the flood on the Uth of April was the highest in the
memory of the oldest inhabitant of Watford. It was remarkable for its rapid
increase, rising at the rate of one foot per hour, and decreasing as rapidly.
While, also, floods at Watford usually occurred about twelve hours after the rain,
this one was much sooner felt.

2. I^ote on the finding of the Hertfordshire Conglomerate in
situ close to Radlett Church. By the Rev. T. Marsden. Com-
municated hy the President.

3. Notice of the occurrence of a Landslip in Rickmansworth
Park, in May, 1876. Communicated by the Honorary Secretary.

4. "On the Fertilisation of Aucuba Japonica.^^ By the Presi-
dent. {Vide -p. 111.)

5. On a Stone found embedded in the Centre of a Beech Tree.
By the President.

Dr. Brett stated that during the storm which sank the " Eurydice " one of the
finest beeches in Cassiobury Park, at the principal entrance, was blown down,
and that, when the sawyers cut through the tree, about fifteen feet from the
ground, they found a stone in the centre. On examining the tree, it was found
that three branches had grown together round the stone, which must have been
thrown into the fork (or axil) of these branches when the tree was very young.

6. A letter from " Two Members, " Nutfield, Watford, to the
Secretary, on the growth of Mistletoe on the Hawthorn in Cassio-
bury Park.

7. Extract of a letter from Mr. H. George Fordham, F.G.S.,
Odsey Grange, Royston, to the Secretary, on the Bee Orchis
( Ophrys Apifera) near Odsey.

Mr. Fordham had recently found several plants of the bee orchis in a new
locality on a patch of glacial sand and gravel just within the County of Hert-
ford, where the parish of Ashwell adjoins that of Odsey. It was interesting, in
this neighbourhood, he said, to observe the complete change in the character of
the flora when these isolated patches of glacial drift were met with.

8. "Notes on the May-fly." By Peter Hood, M.D. {Vide
p. 107.)

9. " On the Otter and Badger in the Valley of the Colne." By
the President.

Dr. Brett said that an otter had been shot by Mr. Ruby at Iver Moor on the
Eiver Colne ; and that Mr. Grass, keeper to the Earl of Essex, shot a badger at
Long Spring early in May last, being the first badger he had seen during the
thirty-six years he had lived as keeper at Watford.

VOL. II, — PT. IV. D

XXVI PEOCEEDINGS OF THE

10. Extract of a letter from Mr. R. P. Greg, F.G.S., Coles Park,
Buntingford, to the Secretary, stating that badgers were not un-
common in the Rib near Euntingford, and that his keeper had shot
one last August.

11. " On a Singular Disease amongst the Deer in Cassiobury
Park." Py the Presiolent. (F/V^ep. 111.)

12. "On Natural Selection in Rabbits." By the President.
{Vtde^. 112.)

The attention of the Society was also drawn to some photographs
showing peculiar markings on the panes of glass of a conservatory,
sent by Lieut. R. B. Croft, F.L.S., who was desirous of eliciting
suggestions as to their origin.

Several Members exhibited objects under their microscopes, and
other interesting Natural History objects were exhibited.

Field Meeting, IGxn June, 1878.
Hertford and Ware.

The northern edge of the London Tertiary Basin passes for a
considerable portion of its course through the County of Hertford,
and Avithin the last few years several places along this line of
outcrop have been visited by the Society, in conjunction with the
Geologists' Association of London. On this occasion the neigh-
bourhood of the county town was selected for investigation, and
members of the two societies met at the Hertford Station of the
Great Northern Railway at half-past ten, the County Field Club
forming by far the larger party. Professor John Morris, F.G.S.,
had kindly consented to explain the geological features of the
district, the Honorary Secretary having made the necessary arrange-
ments for the day, and selected the route to be taken.

The first place visited was Hertford Castle, near which there
are still standing, completely overgrown with ivy, the ruins of a
much older structure, once an important fortress, supposed to have
been built by King Alfred. Near this fortress flows the River Lea,
from which the moat by which it was surrounded could have been
easily filled.

From the Castle the route lay through the churchyard (All
Saints'), famed for its fine avenue of chestnuts, 200 years old,
and thence through Balls Park, the seat of the Marquis Towns-
hend, to Mr. Lines' brickfield, between Rush Green and Hertford
Heath, the first point of geological interest. Before, however,
the brickfields were visited, a chalk-pit near afforded Professor
Morris the text for an interesting address, in the course of
which he showed that the flints immediately above the chalk
were of a different colour from that of the flints in the chalk, some
chemical change having given them a green coating. The presence
of this thin layer of green-coated flints, known to borers as the
" Bull's Head Bed," was a proof that we had the true surface of

"WATFORD XATUEAL niSTOr.Y SOCIETY. XX VU

the Upper Chalk, the bed forming the basement of the Tertiary-
Series. Another interesting point connected with the chalk here
was that it contained very little silex, for it had segregated in the
form of flints ; while, in the Lower Chalk, or chalk without flints,
the silex was probably distributed through the mass. Mr. Lines,
who here Joined the party, stated that in the bed of green-coated
flints, sharks' teeth and oyster shells {Ostrea Bellovacina) were
frequently found.

Various sections exposed in the brickfields were then examined,
the Professor explaining the relative position of the different beds,
and their relations to each other, and to beds elsewhez'e which are
here wanting.* In this district we had, he said, the lowest portion
of the Tertiary Series seen north of London, but not the lowest
known in the London area, for while the Tliauet Sands were being
deposited south of the Thames, the Chalk here was nearer the
surface, not allowing of their deposition. The Woolwich and
Reading Beds also were only partially represented. They con-
sisted here of alternations of sands and clays, and showed a very
different set of conditions to that on the south of London, where
there were thirty or forty feet of ash- coloured sands. Here also,
there were no freshwater shells, though these beds were contem-
poraneous with the freshwater beds found at Lewisham, etc.,
which contained a great number of shells ; for, while south of
London there were freshwater and estuarine conditions, in the
north and west of the London Tertiary Basin the deposits were
entirely marine.

Other beds, which form a passage between the Woolwich and
Reading Series and the London Clay, were next examined, and
Professor Morris stated that they represented an important change
of conditions.' Their black flint-pebbles were interesting as being
derived from unworn flints perfectly rolled on some sea-shore,
and, after being rounded, spread over the surface where they
were now found. These higher beds, forming the basement-bed
of the London Clay, evidenced a great depression of a very large
area, extending between Marlborough, Hungerford, and Harwich.

From the brickfields the route lay across the fields to the hamlet
of Hertford Heath, the highest point visited during the day, where
excavations are being carried on under the direction of Messrs.
Smith & Austin, of Hertford, for a reservoir to supply the
village with water. Here the Professor continued his lecture on
the geology of the neighbourhood. Few districts were, he said, so
interesting geologically as this, which had been partly worked out
by Professor Hughes. f Other heights of the same level were seen
around, and these elevations were the remnants of a surtiice of
uniform height which had been cut into deeply by denudation, the

* A detailed account of the entire section exposed in these brickfields will be
found in the lecture by Professor Morris, on '-The Physical Structure of the
London Basin," in the ' Transactions,' Vol. I, p. 99.

t See ' Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc.,' vol. xxiv, p. 283.

XXVni PROCEEDINGS OF THE

pi'csent river- valleys being then formed and gravel being deposited.
The gravel beds of the higher levels might be seen to contain
pebbles from a great distance — Wales, Cumberland, and even Scot-
land. They were the high-pebble gravels of Professor Hughes.
It was improbable that they were here first formed in place as
pebbles, some at least being pebbles of far older age. After the
pebbles were deposited an emergence took place, and the land
became scooped out, and great valleys were formed. During a
period of submergence the glacial or Boulder-clay materials were
brought from the north, and here the Boulder-clay was seen to
have mixed up the gravel of high-pebbles and to have brought
with it other materials. After this period a partial emergence took
place, and after this emergence rain and rivers gave the present
contour to the country, forming the third or river-gravel period, so
that the district now presents the beds of high-pebble gravel,
boulder-clay and gravel, and low-pebble gravel.

From Hertford Heath the route lay through the " "Walnut-tree
Walk," and in refreshing shade, for the day was hot and the sun
shone brightly, a halt was made for luncheon, after partaking of
which the party passed through Amwellbury, the romantic grounds
of the Eev. P. D. Barclay Bevan, by permission of the Misses
Bevan, and came upon the high road near the Amwell Hill lime-
kilns, where a few fossils were found, and some fine examples of
vertical " pipes," exposed at the sides of an extensive chalk-pit,
were specially noticed.

Climbing one of the sides of the pit, Amwell Magna*' was
almost immediately reached, and the well-known spring which
rises here from the Chalk, affording the New River Company a
copious supply of water, was visited ; but the beauty of the spot —
the church above, the river flowing by, the finely- wooded hill-side,
and the ornamental water reflecting the varied scene — diverted
attention from the spring, and from the interest attaching to its
situation and origin. It is evidently a subterranean stream, flow-
ing for some distance in the Chalk towards the River Lea, then
passing under it and rising on the other side, and finding its way
to the surface close to the river under which it flows.

The next point of interest was near the New River Head, on the
road from Ware to Hertford. Here a boring is in progress by the
Diamond Rock Boring Company to afford an additional supply of
water for the New River Company. On arriving at the scene of
operations, the party, by permission of the New Hiver Company,
and of Colonel Beaumont, R.E., Director of the Diamond Rock
Boring Company, had the opportunity of becoming acquainted
with the various methods of working adopted. The first operation
consists in sinking by means of compressed air, — men working
inside an iron cylinder into which air is pumped, which drives
out round the edges any water which may accumulate while the
materials are loosened inside, the cylinder being forced down

* Or Great Am^yell, tlie EmmewcUe or Emma's Well of Domesday Book.

WATFOKD NATUEAL HISTORY SOCIETY. XXIX

from above. This preliminary process had been given up, and the
boring by diamonds had been carried on for some time. The boring,
commenced in February, had been carried to a depth of 250 feet —
a quarter of the entire distance intended — at an expense in dia-
monds alone of over £400 ; for although the diamonds rapidly cut
away the hardest rock without showing any signs of wear, they
become loose and break away by the wearing of the steel rings
in which they are fixed. They are set in rows tangentially at the
bottom of a ring of varying dimension (called the " crown "), the
larger rings which are first used being made to revolve more slowly
than the smaller ones used at greater dejiths where the bore-hole
has to be smaller. At the present stage a ring 19^ inches in
diameter, making from 100 to 125 revolutions per minute, is being
used, the motion being given by a 25-horse-power steam-engine.
After explaining the working of the machinery, and showing some
of the cores which had been brought up, Mr. Wild, the Resident
Engineer, most obligingly set his men to give a practical illustration
of some of the processes, and the method of ''drawing the core"
and washing-out the " sludge " was duly exemplified.

The Chadwell Springs, a few fields distant — better known as the
!N^ew River Head — were next to have been visited, and the
"Ermine Street," an old Roman road, and other indications of
olden times, to have been explored, but evening was di'awing near,
and the party had to hasten from the boring to Ware Priory, the
residence of Dr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S., etc., who had invited
the members of the two societies to tea. Here a sumptuous meal
was provided, and after full justice had been done to it, Professor
Morris, as President of the Geologists' Association, proposed a vote
of thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Gwyn Jeffreys for their kind entertain-
ment, Avhich was seconded by Dr. Brett, as President of the
County Society, and carried by acclamation.

Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys, in responding, referred to the long and tiring
walk his visitors had accomplished, which he was sure was good for
them, and for the ladies especially, of whom he was glad to see so
many present. He was very pleased to see them at the Priory, and
hoped this would not be the last visit they would pay him.

The party then took leave of their host and hostess and left the
Priory for Ware Station, the members of the Geologists' Associa-
tion returning to London by the Great Eastern Railway, and most
of the members of the Hertfordshire Field Club to Hertford, in
the opposite dii'ection, and thence to Watford and elsewhere.

Field Meeting, 3rd July, 1878.

MooK Park.

A large number of members and their friends left Watford for
Rickmansworth by the 2"30 p.m. train, to visit Moor Park by
the invitation of Lord Ebury, and at the park were joined by
others who had driven from Watford and elsewhere.

XXX PIIOCEKDIXGS OF THE

The "Cottage Gardens" were first visited, and here, amongst a
number of fine old trees, a tulip-tree of unusually handsome
growth was specially noticed. Entering then the park just
beyond these gardens, the beautiful "lime-tree walk" was taken
towards Moor Farm. The trees now growing at the side of this
walk were planted about 150 years ago, and are now quite perfect,
but of the limes of older date one only is now standing. Selby,
in his ' History of British Forest Trees ' (p. 6), specially refers
to these limes as showing that where sufficient room has been
afforded to the lime-tree, " and the soil has suited its constitu-
tion," it becomes one of "the finest and most striking of our
forest-trees."

That the roots of these trees must penetrate into the chalk
evidence was afforded by a chalk-pit near, the chalk being seen
to come almost to the surface. The bands of flints, cutting the
surface-line of the chalk at an angle, showed also that the true
or original sui-face of this — the Upper — Chalk was not seen, some
portion, perhaps considerable, having been denuded, probably by
the river, then flowing at a much higher level than now. The
Colne seems, in fact, to have been mainly instrumental in forming
the escarpment of the London Clay and Woolwich Beds which
here overlooks its present valley.

The few existing indications of the old Moor House near the
Watford entrance to the park were next examined. The site
of the once fortified mansion, a nearly square piece of ground
artificially raised, estimated by pacing to be about an acre in
extent, was seen to be still protected on three of its sides by the
moat, and the position of the drawbridge in the centre of the
fourth side, by which it is approached, was clearly traced.

The members then proceeded in the direction of the present
Moor House along the " King's Drive," so named because it was
the route taken by William the Fourth on his visit to the Marquis
of Westminster in 1833. Passing the house the upper pleasure
grounds were visited, and here the principal object of interest
was an old fir tree, supposed to be the largest and oldest spruce
fir in Great Britain. It appears to be a clump of firs, but is really
only one tree, some of the branches of which have bent down to
the ground, taken root, and sent forth fresh branches. The
pleasure grounds are about twenty-five acres in extent, and from
their elevated position afford splendid views of the surrounding
country.

Beyond these grounds a halt was made at the " Bath End
Clump," near to which Wolsey's Oak, or the Cardinal's Oak, as
it is sometimes called, was noticed ; *' and towards the Batchworth
Heath entrance to the park, through the " Surrey Gap " were
seen the distant hills of Surrey.

* The Rev. Canon Gee, in his paper on " Famous Trees in Hertfordshire "
(' Transactions,' Vol. II, p. 13) refers to this tree, and also gives some historical
information as to the origin of the pollard oaks in Moor Park.

WATFOED NATTTEAL HISTOET SOCIETY. XXXI

Returning to the house, tea and other refreshments, Tiindly pro-
vided by Lord Ebury, were partaken of in the gardens immediately
adjoining it, and then the house itself was entered. The richly
decorated entrance-hall was first examined, and the paintings of
mythological subjects on the walls, by Amiconi, a Venetian artist,
were explained by the President, Dr. Brett, who also gave some
interesting information as to the history of the house under its
successive owners, and especially as to its almost entire recon-
struction, between 1720 and 1739, when the property of Mr.
Styles, by Leoni, a celebrated Italian architect, under whose
direction these paintings and most of the present decorations
throughout the house were done.*

After visiting various rooms, a vote of thanks was accorded to
the present noble owner, in moving which Dr. Brett stated that
Lord Ebury regretted that he was unable to receive and entertain
the members of the Society himself, being unavoidably engaged
in London on that day.

The members then dispersed, most of them returning to Watford
from Eickmansworth Station.

OEDrNAEY Meeting, IOth Octobee, 1878.
Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The Rev. Herbert R. Peel, M.A., Abbot's Hill, Hemel Hemp-
stead, and the Rev. E. T. Vaughan, M.A., The Parsonage, Hunton
Bridge, were elected Members of the Society.

The following lecture was delivered : —

" The Origin and Present Distribution of the British Flora."
By the Rev. George Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S. ( Vkle p. 129.)

Maps, diagrams, and botanical specimens were exhibited by Mr.
Henslow in illustration of the lecture.

Oedinaet Meeting, 14th JS'ovembee, 1878.

Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

Captain George Ernest Ross, F.R.G.S., Watei'side, St. Albans ;
and Forfar House, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London,
S.W., was elected a Member of the Society.

The following paper was read : —

" The Bulbome and Gade, with ISTotes on the Fish of the two
Rivers." By John E. Littleboy. {Tide^.m.)

* Sahnon. in writing in 1728 of these alterations to the house, says: "A
North Front of the same is designed, the Hill towards Watford being cut through
for a Yisto ; in digging were found Veins of Sea Sand mth Muscles in it"
('Hist. Herts,' p. 110). The basement-bed of the London Clay must have been
here cut through.

XXXll PROCEEDINGS OF THE

The Presidont alluded to the present scarcity of mimiows in the Colnc, though
formerly they were so abundant that a minnow feast was held annually at
"Watford. He also referred to the absence of any certain knowledge as to the
length of life of fishes.

Mr. Sydney Humbert mentioned having caught a bream in the Gade, near
Eussell Farm, four pounds in weight, and stated that he knew the pope to be
frequently caught in the Gade. Keferring to the voracity of the pike, he said
that he was fishing one day in company with a friend and each hooked a fish
almost at the same moment. A single pike had taken both their baits, and was
thus doubly caught.

Niimerous stuffed specimens of the different fish referred to were
exhibited, most of which were lent by Mr. Burbidge, Mr. Moon, and
Mrs. Moore.

Oedinaey Meeting, 12th Decejibek, 1878.
Alfred T, Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The following communications were read : —

1. ''Notes on the Botany of the Experimental Grass Plots at
llothamsted, Herts." By John J. Willis. Communicated by the
Honorary Secretary. {Vide p. 140.)

2. "'Note on Eucalyptus globulosa at Watford." By the Presi-
dent. [Vide^. 156.)

3. "JS'ote on the Fertilisation of Auciiha Japonica.^'' By Eicardo
Palmer. Communicated by the President. ( F/r/i? p. 156.)

4. Extracts from a letter from the Eev. J. C.Clutterbuck, M.A.,
to the President, on the "Watford Rivers and their Pish.

Mr. Clutterbuck stated that the heaviest trout he ever heard of was caught in
the Colne at Rickmansworth. It weighed 1 1 lbs. and was said not to be in full
condition. He referred to the great destruction the pnper mills had wrought,
especially the one on Rickmanswoith Conmion Moor. He had observed that, in
the Thames, trout were only found where there was a Chalk or Oolite stream
which brought them into the main river, and then they were few but generally
large. They avoided rivers subject to floods, as the Thames and the upper part
of the Colne. He could not understand why the Ver lost its name at its junction
with the Colne, which scarcely deserved the name of a river above the junction.
Telford, in the plan accompanying his report, called the river the " Verlam " far
below the junction.

5. A letter from Mr. Stephen Austin to the Secretary, on the
discovery of remains of a stag f Cervus Elaplms y in a bed of peat
in Panshanger Park.

Mr. Austin stated that a pair of very fine antlers and fifteen pieces of vertebrae
had recently been taken from a peaty place in Panshanger I'ark. Some men
were cutting a watercress bed and in digging they came upon the point of an
antler. The pair of horns which they found in digging further were perfect and
very large — 3 feet long and 21 inches spread, and just above the place where
attached to the head, 7 inches in circtimference. They were in perfect preserva-
tion, and looked as if they might have just been taken from a live stag. From
their shape Mr. Austin concluded that they must have belonged to Cervus Elaphus.
He had never heard of deer having been kept in Panshanger.

WATFORD NATtJR.O, HISTOBY SOCIETY,

Donations to the Library in 1878.

Title.

Anon. Rudiments of Vegetable Physiology. 8vo.
Edinburgh, 1846

Bayne, Rev. R. Rickmansworth and its Neighbour-
hood. 8vo. London and Aylesbury, 1870

CouEs, Elliott. Fur-bearing Animals : A Monograph
of North American Mustelidae. {U.S. Geol. Surv.)
Svo. Washington, 1877

CouES, E., and J. A. Allen. Monographs of North
American Rodentia {U.S. Geol. Surv.) 4to. Wash-
ington, 1877 ........

Drew, Dr. John. Practical Meteorology. Svo. London,
1855

Evans, Da. John. Address to the Geological Section
of the British Association, Dublin, 15th August,
1878. 8vo _ . . .

Francis. F. J. A Brief Survey of Physical and Fossil
Geology. 8vo. London, 1839 .

Geographical Magazine. Vol. v, Nos. 1-5. 4to.
London, 1878 .......

Harrison, W. J. On the Occurrence of Rhtetic Beds
in Leicestershire. [Quart. Journ. Geol. Sac. 1876.)

. . On the Geology of ' Leicestershire. {Proc.

Geol. Assoc 1877) .......

. Report of Excursion of the Geologists' Asso-
ciation to Leicestershire [ib. 1877) . . . .

' . A Sketch of the Geology of Hampshire.

8vo. ShefBeld, 1877

. The Geology of the West Riding of York-
shire. {Post Office Directory, 1878)

Hatden, Prof. F. V. Geological and Geographical
Atlas of Colorado, and Portions of Adjacent Terri-
tory. {U.S. Geol. Surv.) Folio. Washington, 1877

———. Ninth Annual Report of the United States
Geological and Geographical Survey of the Terri-
tories, for 1875. (Colorado.) 8vo. Washington,
1877

Jackson, W. H. Descriptive Catalogue of Photographs
of North American Indians. {U.S. Geol. Surv.)
Svo. Washington, 1877 _ . . . _ .

Lesquereux, Leo. Contributions to the Fossil Flora
of the Western Territories. Part 2. The Tertiary
Flora. {U.S. Geol. Surv.) 4to. Washington, 1878

LiNNEAN Society. Journal. Zoology, Vols, xii-
xiii. Botany, Vols, xv-xvi. 8vo. London,
1876-78

Liverpool Geological Society. Proceedings. Sessions
1872-73 and 1873-74. Svo. Liverpool, 1873-74 _.

Microscopical, Monthly, Journal. Vols, xvii-xviii.
Svo. London, 1877 ......

Nicholson, Prof A. H. Introductory Text Book of
Zoology. 2nd Edition. Svo. Edinburgh and
London, 1875 .......

Patterson, Robert. Introduction to Zoology. Part 1.
Invertebrate Animals. 12mo. London, 1846

Popular Science Review. Vols. i-ii. Svo. London,
1862-3

Donor.

Mr. J. Hophinson.
Dr. A. T. Brett.

Prof. F. V. Hayden.

))
Mr, J. Hophinson.

The Author.
Mr. J. Hopkinson,
Lieut. R. B. Croft.
The Author.

Prof. F. V. Hayden.

Lieut. R. B. Croft.
3Ir. J. Hopkinson.
Lieut. R. B. Croft.

Mr. J. Hopkinson.

vol. II. — Pt T.

XXXIV

PROCEEDINGS OF THE

Title.

EoYAL Society. Report of the Committee of Pliysics,
including Meteorology, on the Objects of Scientific
Inquiry in those Sciences. 8vo. London, 1840

Science Gossip, 1878. 8vo. London, 1878

Scottish Meteorological Society. Journal. New
Series. Vol. iv, Nos. 43-46. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1875

Symons, Gr. J. British Rainfall, 1876. 8vo. London,
1877

. ,1877. If). 1878

. . Monthly Meteorological Magazine. Vol. xiii.

8vo. London, 1878

United States Entomological Commission. Annual
Report for 1877, relating to the Rocky Mountain
Locust. {U.S. Geol. Surv.) 8vo. Washington,
1878

United States Geological and Geographical Sur-
vey OF THE Territories. Bulletin. Vol. iii,
No. 4. Vol. iv, Nos. 1 and 2. 8vo. "Washington,
1877 . . _ .

II Illustrations of Cretaceous and Tertiary
Plants of the Western Territories. 4to. Washing-
ton, 1878

. Preliminary Report of the Field Work for

the Season of 1877. 8vo. Washington, 1 877

Watts, Dr. J. The Knowledge of the Heavens and the
Earth made easy. 5th Edition. 8vo. London, 1752

White, Dr. C. A., and Prof. H. A. Nicholson.
Bibliography of North American Palieontology.
{U.S. Geol. 'Surv.) 8vo. Washington, 1878 .

Woodward, Dr. John. An Essay towards a Natural
History of the Earth. 3rd Edition. 8vo. London,
1723

Donor.

Mr. J. Hoplcinson.
The Publishers.

Mr. J. Hophinson.

The Editor.

Frof. F. V. Hayden.

Lieut. E. B. Croft.
Frof. F. V. Hayden.
Lieut. R. B. Croft.

Publications of Societies Received in Exchange.

Barrow Naturalists' Field Club. Proceedings. Vols. i-ii. 8yo. Barrow-
in-Furness, 1877-78.
Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. Proceedings. Vol.

iv. No. 1. 8vo. Bath, 1878.
Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society. Proceedings.

Session 1876-1877. 8vo. Belfast, 1877-
Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society. Annual

Reports for 1876-78. 8vo. Birmingham, 1876-78.
Notes on Sutton Park : its Flowering Plants, Ferns, and Mosses. By

James E. Bagnall. 8vo. Birmingham, 1877.
Boston [U.S.A.] Society of Natural History. Proceedings. Vol. xix. Parts

1-2. 8vo. Boston, 1877.
Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society. Proceedings for 1876-77.

8vo. Brighton, 1878.
Bristol Naturalists' Society. Proceedings. New Series. Vol. ii. Part 1.

8vo. Bristol, 1877.
Cardiff Naturalists' Society. Transactions. Vol. ix. 8vo. London, 1878.
Chester Society of Natural Science. Annual Report for 1877-78. 8vo.

Chester, 1878.
Croydon Microscopical Club. Proceedings for 1876. 8vo. Croydon, 1878

WATFORD NATITKAL HISTORY SOCIETY. XXXV

Eastbourne Natural History Society. Papers, Sessions 1873-74 to 1877-

78. 4to. Eastbourne, 1874-78.
Edinburgh Botanical Society. Transactions and Proceedings. Vol. xiii,

Part 1. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1877.
Entomological Society. Proceedings for 1877- 8vo. London, 1878.
Geological Society OF London. Abstracts of the Proceedings. Session 1877-

78. 8vo. London, 1878.
Geologists' Association. Proceedings. Vol. v, Nos. 3-6. 8vo. London.

1877-78.
Glasgow Natural History Society. Proceedings. Vol. iii. Part 2. 8vo.

Glasgow, 1877.
Glasgow, Philosophical Society of. Proceedings. Vol. xi, No. 1. 8vo.

Glasgow, 1878.
Irish, Royal, Academy. Proceedings. Science. Series 2, Vol. iii, No. 1.

8vo. Dublin, 1877.
. Aeneidea, or Critical, Exegetical, and Aesthetical Remarks on the

Aeneis. By James Henry. Vol. i, and Vol. ii, Part 1. 8vo. Dublin,

1877-78.
Leeds Naturalists' Club and Scientific Association. Annual Report for

1877-78. 8vo. Leeds, 1878
Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society. A Sketch of the Geology

of Leicestershire and Rutland. By W. J. Harrison. 8vo. Leicester, 1877.
Liverpool Geological Society. Proceedings. Vol. iii, No. 3. 8vo. Liver-
pool, 1877.
Liverpool, Literary and Philosophical Society of. Proceedings. Vol.

xxxi. 8vo. London and Liverpool, 1877.
London, "West, Scientific Association and Field Club. Annual Report

for 1877-78. 8vo. London, 1878.
Manchester Geological Society. Transactions. Vol. iv, Parts 15-22.

8vo Manchester, 1877-78.
Marlborough College Natural History Society. Report for the half-
year ending Christmas, 1877. 8vo. Marlborough, 1878.
Meteorological Society. Quarterly Journal. New Series. Vol. iii, No. 24,

Vol. iv, Nos. 25-27. 8vo. London, 1877-78.
Microscopical, Royal, Society. Journal. Vol. i. 8vo. London, 1878.
Midland Union of Natural History Societies. The Midland Naturalist.

Vol. i. 8vo. London and Birmingham, 1878.
Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society. Transactions. Vol. ii, Part

4. 8vo. Norwich, 1878.
Perthshire Society of Natural History'. The Scottish Naturalist. Vol. iv,

Nos. 29-32. 8vo. Edinburgh and London, 1878.
QuEKETT Microscopical Club. Journal. Vol. v, No. 35. 8vo. London,

1877.
Rugby School Natural History Society. Report for 1877. 8vo. Rugby,

1878.
Somersetshire Natural History and Arch^ological Society. Pro-
ceedings. New Series. Vol. iii. 8vo. Taunton, 1878.
United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Reports of the Com-
missioner for 1871-75. 8vo. "Washington, 1873-76.
Warwickshire Natural History and Arch^ological Society. Report

for 1877. 8vo. Warwick, 1878.
Wiltshire Arch^ological and Natural History Society. Magazine.

Vol. xvii. No. 51. Vol. xviii. No. 52. 8vo. Devizes, ls78.
Winchester and Hampshire Scientific and Literary Society. Journal

of Proceedings. Vol. i. 8vo. Winchester, 1875.
Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. The Natui-alist. Vol. iv, Nos. 1-5. 8vo.
Huddersfield, 1878.

xxxvl proceedings of tdk

Oedinaey Meeting, QtitJanuaky, 1879.

Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

Mr. Frederick Littleboy, Hunton Bridge, Watford, was elected a
Member of the Society.

The following lecture was delivered : —

"Poisons not always Poisons." By Professor John Attfield,
Ph.D., F.C.S. (F/r^ep. 147.)

The President said that Prof Attfiekl's lecture proved the truth of the common
saying — " What is one man's meat is another man's poison." This was, however,
more applicable to the lower animals than to man. He had often been struck
with the deadly action of bruised laurel leaves on insects. The similar action of
sulphur, whether applied in the solid form or as snlphurous acid fumes, was also
remarkable. He had been told that caustic lime thrown into a pool would destroy
any fish that might be in it, but he should have thought that the lime would be
too much diluted for the fish to be injured. He did not consider the chalk in the
Watford water to be injurious, for our constitution required lime, and we took
more of it with our solid food than in water.

Mr. James Hopkinson said that it had long been known that if sufficient
caustic lime were thrown into a pool to render the water perfectly white, the fish
would rise to the surface dying or dead.

Mr. Littleboy stated that he had often eaten a considerable amount of the fruit
of the yew, and it had never h-ad any injurious efiect, but he knew that the stone
should not be eaten. The fruit of the Irish yew was more luscious than that of
the common yew.

Mr. E. M. Chafer said that there M'as one plant in particular the flowers of
which had a poisonous effect upon insects and not upon the higher animals. He
alluded to a species of I'yrethruDi, which he believed formed the basis of most of
the insect powders. It had occurred to him that as strychnine acted on the
nervous system it might not have the same poisonous effect on mites as on more
highly organised animals ; and that as sulphate of zinc probably contained a
large quantity of combined water, the spider might possibly have existed on the
water, rejecting the mineral matter.

Professor Attfield replied that, with regard to bruised laurel leaves killing
insects, the effect was doubtless due to hydrocyanic acid. Laurel leaves probably
contained amygdalin, which when brougbt into contact with moisture, as in
bruising the leaves, broke up into various compounds, one of which was hydro-
cyanic acid. At the same time there were animals, as frogs and toads, which
would take a large quantity of this acid without injuiy. With regard to the
action of lime on fish, a small quantity of lime throwai into water might be quickly
converted into carbonate of lime or chalk, but a large quantity would act as
caustic lime, which being a powerful alkali would not only kill, but even dis-
integrate animals. It was a well-known tact that Fyrcthrum carneum was an in-
secticide, but how it acted was not known. It was also well known that even
when given in considerable quantities it did not affect the higher animals, as
dogs and cats. Mr. Chafer's suggestion about strychnine might probably indi-
cate the truth. Strychnine being a great nerve-paralyser would be a poison to
all animals having nerves like man, but to those having a less complete organi-
sation he could conceive that it might be a food, for though it resisted the action
of hot oil of vitriol, which no other vegetable poison did, it was pretty easily
oxidised, and oxidation was the leading feature in the digestion and assimilation
of food. With regard to the action of poisons generally, the facts he had brought
forward would seem to show that the substances called poisons were only truly
poisons when the animals taking such .substances were unaccustomed to them, or
when the substances were swallowed in quantities larger than usual.

Mr. E. M. Chater and Mr. J. AVatson "Walker were appointed
auditors of the accounts for 1878.

WATFOEI) NAXrEAL HISTORY SOCIETY. XXXVU

ANNUAL MEETING, 13th Febktjary, 1879.
Alfred T. Brett, Esq., M.D., President, in the Chair.

The Right Honourable the Earl Cowper, K.G., Panshanger,
Hertford, and Mr. Bernard C. Smith, Southfield House, "VVatford,
were elected Members of the Society.

The Report of the Council for 1878, and the Treasurer's Account
of Income and Expenditure, were read and adopted.

The President delivered an Address. ( Vide p. 157.)

The Balloting-glass having been removed, and the lists examined
by the Scrutineers, the following gentlemen were declared to have
been duly elected as the Officers and Council for the ensuing year : —

President.—^. Gwyn Jeffreys, LL.D., E.R.S., E.L.S., E';G.S.,etc.

Vice-Presidents.— Ame^iT. Brett,M.D ; Arthur Cottam,E.R. A. S. ;
John Evans, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., F.S.A., E.G.S., F.M.S. ; R.
A. Pryor, B.A., E.L.S.

Treasurer. — Charles F. Humbert, F.G.S.

Sonorary Secretary and Lihrarian. — John Hopkinson, F.L.S.,
F.G.S., F.R.M.S., F.M.S.

Honorary Curator. — W. Lepard Smith.

Other Members of the Council— Trot John Attfield, Ph.D., F.C.S. ;
R. Russell Carew, F.R.G.S., F.C.S. ; E. M. Chater ; Lieut. R. B.
Croft, R.N., F.L.S., F.R.M.S. ; the Right Honourable the Lord
Ebury ; the Right Honourable the Earl of Essex ; H. George
Fordham, F.G.S. ; James U. Harford ; John E. Littleboy ; J. Logan
Lobley, F.G.S., F.R.G.S. ; the Rev. C. M. Perkins, M.A. ; Joseph
Pollard.

It was then resolved —

That the thanks of the Society be given to Dr. Brett, retiring
from the office of President ; to Mr. J. Logan Lobley, retiring from
the office of Vice-President ; and to the Rev. Canon Gee, D.D.,
Mr. J. E. Harting, and Mr. F. W. Silvester, retiring from the
Council.

Report of the Coustcil for 1878.

In presenting their fourth Annual Report, the Council of the
"Watford Natural History Society and Hertfordshire Field Club
have pleasure in congratulating the members on the continued
prosperity of the Society and on the influential position it main-
tains in the County, its members being distributed over almost
every part of Hertfordshire, and its Natural History investigations
having an equally extensive range.

During the year sixteen ordinary members have been elected ;
three members have compounded for their annual subscriptions ;
eleven members have I'esigned ; two members have been excluded
from the Society for non-payment of their subscriptions for three
years ; and the Council regret that they have again to record the
loss of two members by death — Mr, Hemy Haynes and Mr.
Richard Morgan.

XXXVlll PROCEEDIXGS OF THE

The census of the Society at the end of the years 1877 and 1878
was as follows : —

1R77. 1878.

Honorary Members 10 10

Life Members 19 22

Annual Subscribers 140 138

169 170

The Council have to announce the completion of the first volume
of the Society's * Transactions ' and the commencement of the
second, two parts of each having been published during the year.
The publication of so much matter has added considerably to your
expenditure, but the large number of members who reside at too
great a distance from Watford to attend the meetings or derive any
benefit from their membership besides the receipt of the ' Trans-
actions,' seems to be a sufficient justification of the endeavour to
give as complete a record of the proceedings of the Society as
possible.

For the illustrations which have appeared in the first volume of
the ' Transactions ' the Society is in most cases indebted to the
liberality of authors, Mr. Lobley having provided the woodcuts
illustrating his lecture on the Cretaceous Rocks of England ; Mr.
Pryor the map of Hertfordshire showing his proposed botanical
districts ; and Mr. Harford the plate illustrating his lecture on the
Polarisation of Light. To the Dii^ector of the Geological Survey
of England, and the Council of the Geological Society of London,
the Society also is indebted for the woodcuts illustrating the
lecture by Professor Morris on the Physical Structure of the
London Basin.

The following are the principal papers and lectures which have
been read or delivered during the year 1878 : —

Jan. 11. — The Products of Hertfordshire; by the Eev. James C. Clutter-
buck, M.A.

Feb. 14.— Anniversary Address ; by the President, Alfred T. Brett, M.D.

March 14.- On British Butterflies; by the Rev C. M. Perkins, M.A.

April 11. — The Physical Characteristics of Minerals; by James U. Harford.

May 9. — Meteorological Observations taken at Cassiobury House, from
January to April, 1876 ; by the Right Honoui'able the Earl
of Essex.

. Meteorological Observations taken at SoUy Bank, AVatford,

during the half-year ending 31st August, 1877; by John
Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.M S., etc., Hon. Sec.

, Report on the Rainfall iu Hertfordshu-e in 1877; by the

Honorary Secretary.

. Report on Phenological Observations in Hertfordshii-e in 1877;

by the Honorary Secretary.

. Notes on Economic Entomology; by Eleanor A. Ormerod,F. M.S.

. Notes for Observations of Injurious Insects ; by Eleanor A.

Ormerod, F.M.S.
June 13. — Notes on the May-fly ; by Peter Hood, M.D.
Oct. 10. — On the Origin and Present Distribution of the British Flora ;

by the Rev. George Henslow, M.A., F.L.S.. F.G.S.
Nov. 14. — On the Bulborne and Gade, with Notes on the Fish of the two

Rivers ; by John E. Littleboy.

WATFORD KATUEAL HISTORY SOCIETY. XXXIX

Dec. 12. — Notes on the Botnny of the Experimental Grass Plots at

Rothamsted, Harpenden ; by John J. Willis.
. Notes on Birds Observed in 1878 ; by John E. Littleboy.

At the June and December meetings several short communica-
tions were also read, and microscopical and other objects of interest
were exhibited.

The meteorological and phenological reports for 1877 will appear
in the next part of the 'Transactions,' and the reports for 1878
will be presented at an early meeting. Several additional observers
have forwarded their returns of the rainfall, and periodical natui'al
phenomena are being observed at an increasing number of localities.
To the two — Watford and \Yare — from which observations were
received in 1876, a third — Odsey — was added in 1877, and now
observations are also taken at Harpenden and Redbourn.

As in the previous year one of the Field Meetings proposed had
to be abandoned on account of the weather. It was intended to
have "S'isited Ashridge Park on the 12th of June, which, however,
was unfortunately one of a continuous succession of wet days. Five
Field Meetings took place, and each one was successful both as to
its interesting nature and the attendance of members.

The following localities were visited : —

May 4. — Cassiobmy Park, the Temple of Pan (Grove "Woods), and
Langleybury.

18.— Tyler's Hill, Chesham.

June 1. — St. Albans.

22.— Hertford and Ware.

July 3.— Moor Park.

The annual whole-day meeting was at Hertford and "Ware, in
conjunction with the Geologists' Association of London, when the
able geological expositions of Professor Morris, and the cordial
reception and hospitable entertainment of Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys,
F.R.S., at AYare Priory, added greatly to the success and enjoy-
ment of an otherwise most interesting field day.

For hospitality kindly afforded at the Field Meetings the Society
is also indebted to Mr. Littleboy, Hunton Bridge ; Mr. "Willshin,
St. Albans ; and Lord Ebury, Moor Park. The parks and private
grounds of the Earl of Clarendon, The Grove, and Mr. W. Jones
Loyd, Langleybury, Watford ; Mrs. Worley, New Barnes, St.
Albans, and the Pev. F. D. Barclay Bevan, Amwellbury, Ware,
have also been visited by the kind permission of their respective
owners ; and at Moor Park Lord Ebury threw open his house as
well as his private grounds to the inspection of the members.

The donations to the Society's Library have been more numerous
than during the preceding year. The donations of your Honorary
Member, Professor F. V. Hayden, Director of the United States
Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, still occupy
the foremost place in number and value. The most important
work of the Survey which has yet been issued. Professor Hayden's
'Geological and Geographical Atlas of Colorado,' an enduring monu-
ment to the ability and industry of the United States Surveyors
and their chief, has lately been received. The number of societies

xl PROCEEDINGS OF THE

whose publications are received in exchange has considerably in-
creased during the year, and some societies to whom your Secretary
applied for an exchange in 1875, have now, after the lapse of three
years, acknowledged the application by forwarding their proceedings
and requesting exchange, a proof that your ' Transactions ' are be-
coming widely known and appreciated.

During the year twenty volumes, principally consisting of the
proceedings of societies received in exchange, have been bound,
and there are now nearly 200 volumes in the library, showing an
average accession, since the foundation of the Society, of fifty
volumes a year. The arrangements which have been made, by
which books may be exchanged between the hours of 3 and 4, and
7 and 9 p.m., any week-day, have already resulted in an increase in
the number borrowed. The books are under the charge of the
assistant-librarian of the Public Library, and a book-case has been
provided for them by the Public Library Committee. Members
who only visit the Library on the evening of the Society's meetings
should exchange their books before the commencement of the meet-
ings, as they can no longer be exchanged in the room in which the
meetings are held.

To the microscopic object- cabinet, which will hold about 500
slides, the only donation as yet received consists of five slides from
Lieut. Croft, F.L.S., to whom the thanks of the Society are also
due for several donations to the library.

The financial condition of the Society is most satisfactory. With
a greater expenditure than in any previous year, principally owing
to the number and length of the papers communicated necessitating
a considei^able increase in the cost of printing the ' Transactions,'
there is a balance of about £ 1 9 in favour of the Society ; in addi-
tion to which two years' dividend on the Consols purchased in
March, 1877, is due. In the purchase of Consols £100 were then
expended, and £10 have since been placed on deposit at the London
and County Bank, representing together the entire amount received
for life compositions.

The Council have to announce the expiration of the term of
office of your President, Dr. Brett. Since his election to the office
Dr. Brett has presided at every evening meeting and has attended
every meeting in the field. With an unusually extensive pro-
fessional connexion, and other calls upon his time, he has never
allowed any engagement to interfere with his attention to the
afi'airs of the Society, the welfare of which he has been largely
instrumental in promoting. The Council desire to express to him
their thanks for the valuable services he has rendered to the
Society.

The Council have also to express their thanks to the Committee
of the Watford Public Library for the continuance of the accom-
modation hitherto afforded to the Society.

WATFOED NATURAL niSTOEY SOCIETY.

xli

Income and Expenditure during the year ending 31st December, 1878.

Dr. £ s. d.

Balance 15 12 8

Subscriptions for 1875 10

„ „ 187fi 3

„ 1877 12 10

„ „ 1878 63

Entrance Fees 7 10

Life Compositions 15

Sale of ' Transactions' 1 10 6

£119 3 2

Subscriptions received for

1S79 4 10

Cr. £ s.

Books and Stationery 2 9

Printing ' Transactions ' 51 17

Miscellaneous I'rintina; 9 18

Eent — Watford Public

Library 5

Attendance at ditto 1 2

Expenses of Field Meetings 1

Library 8 5

Postages 9

Power of Attorney to collect

Dindend on Consols 5

Sundry small expenses 1 3

Amount placed to Deposit

Account at the London

and County Bank 10

Balance 19 1

£119 3 2

The foregoing account was audited and found correct by us,
and we find also that the amount of £10 is to credit of the
Society on deposit at the London and County Bank,
"Watford, and that £ 1 00 has been invested in the puixhase
of £103 4s. Qd. Consols.

\st February, 1879.

E. M. CHATER,
J. W. AVALKER,

Auditors.

Oedinaet Meeting, 13th March, 1879.

J. GwTN Jeffreys, Esq., LL.D., F.E.S., etc., President, in the Chair.

The President, in expressing his thanks for having been elected
to the office at the preceding meeting, said that such societies as
this did a great deal of good in the promotion of science, not so
much by popularising it as by encouraging and enabling many of
the members to become scientific workers. There is no one, he
said, however gifted, who can undertake the investigation of every
department of Natural History ; each must study a special branch,
and it is by the combination of advantages and opportunities that
each of us in some degree possess that science is advanced.

Mr. Robert Thornton Andrews, Castle Street, Hertford ; Mr.
John Flower, 6, Fairfield Road, Croydon; Mr. Charles Edward
Key.ser, Meriy Hill House, Bushey, and 47, Wilton Crescent, London,
S.W. ; and Mr. Herbert Wailes, Park Road, Watford, were elected
Members of the Society.

The following lecture was delivered : —

" The Study of Geology." By J. Logan Lobley, F.G.S., F R.G.S.
{Videip. 171.)

VOL. II. — FT. VI. E

Xlii PROCEEDINGS OF THE

Dr. John Evans, F.R.S., said that he was liappy to think that Geolojry had
received duo attention from the Members of tlie Society as compared witli other
branches of Natural Ilistory, and if anytliing were wanting to induce tlieni to
continue their interest in it the suggestions made by Mr. Lobley were likely to
conduce to such an object. With regard to the three divisions of geologists
pointed out by Mr. Lobley — the Catastrophists, the Uniformitarians, and the
Evolutionists— he thought that although there appeared to be a broad distinction
in relation to each of these views, and there was such a distinction when they were
carried to the extreme, yet all thoughtful geologists would admit that tliere was
truth in each of them. The strictest Uniformitarian would admit the possibility
of cataclysms and convulsions more intense than those of modern times ; all
thoughtful Convulsionists would acknowledge that, given a certain amount of
time, a number of comparatively minute convulsions would produce a large eflect ;
and the more modern school of Evolutionists would admit that, whatever might
be the result of continuous causes bringing in fresh forces, there might at the
present day still be signs of the original forces in existence in a greater or less
degree. The early history of geological thought which had been alluded to was
one of extreme interest, even to those who were not geologists. The description
of Pythagoras, as given by Ovid, was one of the most interesting of particular
forms of thought that he was acquainted with. In the saying of Pythagoras :
" I have seen that which was once sea become land, plains cut through by the
action of running water, and mountains carried down to the sea," they had the
views of all modern geologists. He could fully endorse Mr. Lobley's views as to
the value of scientific terms, for the use of a strict terminology was one of the
greatest aids to the advancement of science.

Remarks were also made by the President and Professor Attfield,
and Mr. Lobley replied.

Oedcnaey MEETiifG, lOth April, 1879.

J. Gw-YN Jeffreys, Esq., LL.D., F.E.S., etc., President, in the Chair.

Mr. George J". Attenbiirrow, Market Place, Hertford ; Mr.
William Robert Baker, Bayfordbury, Hertford ; Mr. Herbert
Bonsor, Great Cozens, Ware ; Mr. Robert William Brett, Lea Side,
Hertford ; Mr. Thomas Stalkartt Carter, Furquhar Cottage, Bengeo ;
Mr. George Cooper, Pore Street, Hertford; the Rev. Lewis Deedes,
M.A., Bramfield Rectory, Hertford ; Mr. G. Reynolds Durrant,
Old Cross, Hertford ; Dr. Joseph Henry Gilbert, P.R.S., F.C.S.,
Harpenden ; Mr. Henry Gilbertson, Mangrove House, Hertford;
Mr. Frank Hall, Fore Street, Hertford ; Mr. Augustus Hawks,
Springfield, Hertford ; Mr. H. C. Heard, Hailey Hall, Hertford ;
Mr. Joseph Himt, High Street, Ware ; Mrs. Gwyn Jeilreys, Ware
Priory; Mr. HoAvel Jeffreys, F.R.A.S., 13, Campden House Road,
Kensington, London, W. ; Mr. S. Martin Leake, Marshalls, Ware;
Mr. Henry Manser, The Lynch, Hoddesdon ; Dr. William Ogle,
M.A., 10, Gordon Street, Gordon Square, London, W.C. ; Mr.
Frederick AV. Phillips, Maidenhead Street, Hertford; Mr. Isaac
Robinson, The Wash, Hertford ; Mr. Charles Tween, The Her-
mitage, Hertford ; Mr. Frank Warner, The Cottage, Hoddesdon ;
Dr. William Warrener, Castle Street, Hertford ; Mr. Charles
Whitley, Jun., Lord Street, Hoddesdon; Mr. James B. Wohlraann,
B.A., Fore Street, Hertford; and Dr. John Woodhouse, St. Andrew's
Street, Hertford, were elected Members of the Society.

"WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

xliii

The follo\Ying paper was read: —

"Bees and Bee-keeping." By the Rev. Herbert E. Peel, M.A.
{Fide -p. 183.)

In the discussion which ensued, the President, Dr. Brett, Mr.
Arthur Cottam, and Mr. Littleboy, took part.

Models of the hives, and other appliances, recommended for
adoption by bee-keepers, were exhibited by Mr. Peel.

Field MEETiNa, 3ed May, 1879.
Abbot's Langlet and Leayesden.

Amongst other objections to the formation of a Natural History
Society at Watford, when first proposed in 1875, it was urged that
there was so little of interest in the neighbourhood, and indeed in
Hertfordshire, that in a year or two every locality worth exploring
would have been visited by the Society. All interest in the field
meetings, it was predicted, would then cease, for the members
would not care twice to go over the same ground. It is now the
fifth year of the Society's existence, and this, like other adverse
predictions, has so far proved groundless. Although one or two
localities have been visited more than once, it has not yet been
necessary to take the same route twice.

And not only is this the case, but how many localities have yet
to be visited, even in the immediate neighbourhood of Watford.
Aldenham, Radlett, and Shenley, in one direction ; Chipperfield,
Red Heath, and Chorley AVood, in another ; and in a third. Leaves-
den, the Langleys, and Bedmont, may be mentioned as places in
that small south-western corner of Hertfordshire in which Watford
is situated, which have not been visited in the first four years of
the existence of the Society.

On this occasion one of the directions above named was taken,
and the members met at King's Langley station for a walk towards
Bedmont, by Abbot's Langley, and through the Leavesden Woods
to Watford.

Almost immediately on leaving the station the fields were taken
towards Bedmont, and a considerable ascent was made from the
alluvial plain forming the bottom of the valley of the Gade. The
road from Abbot's Langley to Bedmont was reached at a spot
where there is an outlier of the Lower Tertiaries, — one of those
outliers which have been alluded to in reports of previous field
meetings as affording evidence of the former extent of the London
Tertiary beds over a very much larger area than at present, from
which ihey have been removed by denudation.

At Abbot's Langley the principal object of interest was an old
horse-chestnut tree, many of the branches of which have taken root
and sprung up again, their size and vigour beyond the points at
which they have rooted showing that they are deriving nourish-
ment from these secondary roots. The area covered by this tree

Xliv PROCEEDINGS OF THE

and its branches was paced, and was found to be abont 38 yards
in diameter, or 120 in circumference. On tbe lawn at Langley
House (Mrs. Hargreaves'), where this singular tree grows, some
splendid cedars and other fine trees were also noticed.

From Abbot's Langley the route lay through the Leav^esden
Woods, where in ordinary seasons the ground would have been
richly carpeted with wild flowers, but now scarcely any were to be
seen ; the long hard winter had made vegetation at least a month
behindhand, and flowers which usually open in March or early
in April were only just beginning to show themselves. The ex-
treme lateness of the season may perhaps be best made evident by
giving a list of the plants which were observed in flower in the
course of the walk —

Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone) .

Ranunculus Ficaria (pile wort or lesser celandine).

Viola canina (dog violet).

V. arvensis (field pansy).

Oxalis Acetosdla (wood sorrel).

Prunus spinosa (blackthorn or sloe).

P. Cerasus (wild cherry).

Potentilla Fragariastrum (barren strawberry).

Priimila vulgaris (primrosej.

P. veris (cowslip).

Veronica hederifolia (ivy-leaved speedwell).

Nepeta GUchoitia (ground ivy).

Mercurialis perennis (dog's Mercury).

Lamiiim purpureum (red dead-nettle) .

L. album (white dead-nettle).

This list contains all that were noted at the time, and if to it we
add the daisy and dandelion, it will most probably comprise all the
plants which were actually seen in flower. Several were only just
opening their flowers, and even primroses were only here and
there to be seen, while in ordinary seasons the ground would have
been richly carpeted with the flowers of the bluebell, primrose,
and spurge.

Okdinakt Meeting, 13th May, 1879.
Arthur Cottam, Esq., F.R.A.S., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Mr. Eussell Gr. Austin, C.E., Castle Street, Hertford ; Mr. Yernon
Austin, Castle Street, Hertford ; Mr. William Henry Bowyer-
Bowers, North Crescent, Hertford ; Mr. Edward Kawson Parke
Francis, The Nurseries, Hertford ; Mr. Thomas Garratt, Hunsdon
Lodge, Ware ; Mr. Robert James Gray, Croxley House, Rickmans-
worth ; Mr. John Gregory, Hoddesdon ; Mr. Edward Manser,
Dicker Mill, Hertford ; Mr. Howard McMullen, St. Andrew's
House, Hertford ; Mr. Urban A. Smith, C.E., Castle Street, Hert-
ford ; Mr. Thomas Joseph Sworder, Wallfield, Hertford; Mr.
Frederick Taylor, Fore Street, Hertford ; Mr. Thomas Toovey,
King's Langley ; the Eev. Woolmore Wigram, M.A., St. Andrew's

"WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. xlv

Eectory, Hertford; and Mr. William H. Wilds, St. Andrew's Street,
Hertford, were elected Members of the Society.

Th.e following communications were read : —

1. " Eeduction of Meteorological Observations." By William
Marriott, P. M.S. Communicated by the Honorary Secretary.
{Videi^. 197.)

2. " Meteorological Observations taken at Wansford House,
Watford, during the Year 1878." By John Hopkinson, F.L.S.,
F.M.S., etc., Hon. Sec. ( Vide p. 209.)

3. "Eeport on the Rainfall in Hertfordshire in 1878." By the
Honorary Secretary. ( Vide p. 223.)

4. " Eeport on Phonological Observations in Hertfordshire in
1878." By the Honorary Secretary. ( Vide p. 229.)

5. Remarks on the Winter of 1878-79." By W. Marriott, P.M.S.
Communicated by the Honorary Secretary. ( Vide p. 237.)

Field Meeting, 17th May, 1879.
Watford.

A large party, consisting of members of the Society and of the
Geologists' Association of London, assembled at Bushey Station at
3 o'clock and proceeded at once to the Colne Valley Waterworks,
near the station, where Mr. Philip Verini,* the Secretary of the
Company, showed the party round the works, explaining the method
of pumping and softening the water.

The main building was first entered, and here two horizontal
steam-engines, each of 60-horse-power, were seen. One only is
worked at a time, the other being kept in reserve for use when its
companion requires cleaning or repairing, and beds are also ready
to receive two others should they at any time be required.

Mr. Verini explained that the engine at work was pumping water
from the well below, and at the same time drawing water from the
softening tanks outside and forcing it into the reservoirs on Bushey
Heath. The shaft below the engine he stated to have a lining four
bricks thick for 70 feet in depth, to guard against the inflow of
surface water, and water from the River Colne. Beyond this dis-
tance there was a boring for 140 feet, and the entire depth, from
the floor of the engine-house, 25 feet above the mouth of the shaft,
■was therefore 235 feet.

A low circular building, called the slaking room, was next en-
tered, and here were seen large cauldrons in which lime is crushed
by a small hydi'aulic machine. From these are tubes through which
the slaked lime passes into larger tanks where lime-water is made.

* It is with great regret I have to record the death of Mr. Yerini, -which
occurred on the 18th of Novemher. To his jeal and energy is mainly due tlie
successful establishment and -working of a company (of which he may be said to
be the founder) which is conferring immense advantages on the district it supplies.

Xlvi PEOCEEDINGS OF THE

The mctliod of working adopted in the slaking room having been
pointed out by Mr. Verini, the rationale of the process was explained
by Mr. John Evans, F.R.S. It was known, he said, as Clark's
process, by which chalk was expelled, or deposited, from water by
chalk. Caustic lime was mixed with water, and the lime-water
thus formed being injected into the water pumped up from the well,
which contained 16 or 17 grains to the gallon of bi-earbonate of
lime, caused the greater part of this to combine with it so as to form
a simple carbonate which being insoluble was quickly deposited at
the bottom of the softening tanks, leaving the water with only
5 grains to the gallon of the bi-carbonate of lime.

The lime-tanks were then visited, one of which was in use
and had at the bottom from three to four feet of lime from the
slaking cauldrons. On valves being opened, soft water from the
reservoir, at 300 feet higher level, forces itself through a series of
holes in long tubes which are placed one foot apart at the bottom
of the tank, and by passing through the slaked lime is converted
into lime-water. This is then carried by a pipe into the softening
tanks outside, which the members next visited.

Three of these tanks stand side by side. In the first the hard
water from the well and the lime-water from the lime-tank were
meeting, and, as JNfr. Evans had before explained, lime was being
deposited as a cai'bonate as the two currents — of lime-water and
hard water — met, forming a re-deposited chalk. After this mixing
process was stopped, the water, Mr. Verini said, soon cleared and
was ready to be pumped into the reservoir on Bushey Heath.

In the second tank the water had become perfectly clear, and
was of a most beautiful blue tint, from the reflexion of white light
by the lime at the bottom and the absorption by refraction of the
more refrangible rays of the spectrum, the red rays first dis-
appearing, as seen in the green colour of the sea, and the yellow
being next refracted away, leaving only the blue.

In the third tank the softened water had all been pumped up to
the reservoir, and the deposit was being washed away with water
from a hose, to be pumped up and stored away for sale.

Mr. Verini then showed the height to which water could be
thi'own in case of fire, setting some men to send water from a hose
quite over the tower of the building, about 90 feet in height.

The store room, plumbing department, and smithy, were finally
visited, and after a vote of thanks had been accorded to Mr. Verini,
the members left the water- works for the adjoining chalk-pit,
where, after a few fossils had been found, Mr. William Whitaker,
F.G.S., of the Geological Survey of England, Honorary Member of
the Society, gave an explanation of the section exposed.

Mr. AVhitaker said that about fifteen years ago he gave a brief
description of this section.* The chalk contained flints, and de-
posited on it very ii'regularly was a bed of clay, the lines of bedding

* ' The Geology of Parts of Middlesex, Hertfordshire, etc' (Memoir on sheet 7
of the Geological Survey Map), p. 63.

WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. xlvii

of which were waved. The chalk was evidently cut out in a
hollow before the clay Avas deposited, showing a very great interval
of time between the deposition of the chalk and of the clay above.
Elsewhere such hollows were nearly always caused by the sinking
of the overlying beds through the dissolving away of the chalk.
The .clay could not be older than the boulder-drift, and he would
call it glacial drift, though Dr. John Evans and other geologists
believed it to be post-glacial. The mistake was often made of
supposing all beds termed "glacial" to be considered by geolo-
gists as having been deposited by ice or in an arctic climate,
but all that was meant by the term was that such beds were
deposited during the glacial epoch, in which were intervals of
warmer climate as well as cold periods. The bed now seen
looked like some beds of brick-earth which elsewhere occurred
under boulder-clay, and it might have been formed in some lake of
no very great extent. On the top of this clay might be seen a bed
of gravel, but he could not say whether it was a river-gravel or a
glacial gravel. If it belonged to the glacial period, the beds of clay
below must also be glacial. Glacial and post-glacial were, how-
ever, only relative terms, for glacial conditions lasted longer in the
north of England than here.

On leaving the chalk-pit the road past Bushey Station was taken,
and from an elevated position above Wiggenhall, affording a good
view of the valley of the Colne and the hills on either side, Mr.
Whitaker pointed out the connexion of the superficial features of
the country with its geological structure. The range of hills on
the edge of which we now stood was, he said, known as the Tertiary
escarpment, the term "escarpment" meaning a ridge along which
the beds were " cut off." These Tertiary beds once extended much
farther over the county, and the escarpment was at one time be-
yond its present position, as shown by outliers of the London Clay
and Reading Beds. The Colne had most probably determined the
present line of the escarpment by cutting its way back, but further
down it had cut through the beds. If we had been higher, we
should have seen that the slope on the opposite side of the valley
rose gently to a greater elevation than this, and we should find
that this higher ground consisted of gravel flats of the same
character as the one we had just walked over, the river having
cut away the beds between.

The valley of the Colne was then crossed, and at the Colney
Butts gravel-pits Mr. Whitaker stated that the gravels seen be-
longed to the glacial drift and were probably of marine formation,
for in some places, as in Suffolk, marine fossils were found in
sandy beds of similar age. The larger stones, perfectly rounded,
must, he said, have come from the north ; the pink quartzites were
supposed to have come from the Lickey Hills ; and the flint-pebbles
had come from Tertiary beds, in which they had originally been
deposited after the denudation of the chalk in which the flints were
first formed — a vast quantity of chalk having been denuded to form
such extensive gravel beds.

xlviii PROCEEDINGS OF THE

The Hagden Lane gravel-pita were next visited, and here the
irregular surface of the chalk under the gravel was well seen. In
continuation of his demonstrations of the geology of the neighbour-
hood, Mr. Whitaker stated that all gravels tended to form flats,
very nearly level, wherever, as here, there was a large extent of
gravel of any age. The gravels here were noteworthy as showing
no lines of bedding. The very uneven surface of the chalk seemed
to be due to its disintegration, by water, holding carbonic acid in
solution, percolating through the gravel above. The gravel where
not let down by this disintegration of the chalk was not more
than 20 feet in thickness, being comparatively insignificant in
section though occiipying large areas.

Before leaving the pit a vote of thanks was accorded to Mr.
"VVhitaker, and on the way to Watford Station the members of the
Geologists' Association and a few members of the local Society had
tea at Wansford House, the residence of the Honorary Secretary.

Field Meeting, 31st Mat, 1879.

ElCKMANS'WORTH CoMMON MoOR.

Eain was falling heavily, when, on the arrival of the half-past
two train from Watford, the members assembled at Eickmansworth
station, meeting there members of the Quekett Microscopical Club.

After some time had been spent in waiting for the rain to partially
clear off, the station was left for the towing path at the side of the
canal, by which the Common Moor was reached. Nets, dipping
bottles, and other collecting appliances were then soon at work,
and a few interesting microscopic objects were obtained, but too
much rain had fallen on that and previous days, and the weather
was too cold and cloudy, for any of the rarer Rotifera or Polyzoa,
which are the most beautiful of the aquatic animals when viewed
under the microscope, to be secured.

After several pools on the moor had been well tried with but
little success, the American water-weed {Anacharis alsinastnim)
growing in the running water was examined, and proved much
more prolific in minute animal life than the water in the stagnant
pools. Perhaps the most interesting object which was obtained in
abundance was the caddis, the larvaj of at least two species of
Fhrygania being collected. The dificrence between the case of a
species found in a running stream, and that of one found in com-
paratively still water, was remarked upon, the former being con-
structed chiefly of small stones or sand, and the latter of fragments
of wood, straw, and other light substances.

When the collecting bottles were pretty well filled with objects
for future examination under the microscope, the members of the
two societies left the moor and returned to Watford by Cassio Bridge.

WATFORD NATURAL niSTORY SOCIETY. xlix

Special Meetixg, 12Tn June, 1879.

J. GwYN Jeffreys, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.

The Presidciit, having- read the circuhir convening the meeting,
stated that the foUoAving new rules were submitted to the Society
by the Council.

I. The Society shall be called the Hertfordshire Natural History
Society and Field Club ; its Head-quarters shall be at Watford ; and its
object shall be the investij^ation of the Jleteorology, Geology, Botany, and
Zoology of the County of Hertford, the publication of the results of such inves-
tigation, and the dissemination amongst its Members of information on Natm-al
History and Microscopical Science.

II. The Society shall consist of Ordinary and Honorary Members, including
Ladies ; the number of Ordinary Members being xmlimited, and the number of
Honorary Members being limited to twenty.

III. The management of the Society shall be vested in a Council, consisting
of a President, three Vice-Presidents for "West Herts and three for East Herts, a
Treasurer, two Honorary Secretaries (one for West and one for East Herts), a
Librarian, a Curator, and twelve other Members, to be elected annually, by ballot,
at the Anniversary Meeting, which shall be held at Watford in February in each
year. The President shall not hold ofhce for a longer terra than two years, and
in each year the senior Vice-President for each Division of the Coimty, and the
three senior Ordinary Members of the Council, shall not be eligible for re-
election ; but the Council shall have power to fill up, from these or other Members
of the Society, any vacancy which may occur during the year.

IV. Not fewer than eight Ordinary Meetings of the Society shall be held in
each year at such places and at such times as may be determined at the preceding
Anniversary Meeting, but the Council shall have power to alter the day and hour
of any Meeting, and at any time to appoint Bye-meetings for Microscopical study
or other purposes ; and during the summer months Field Meetings shall also be
held at such times and places as the Council may direct.

V. Minutes shall be kept of the Ordinary and Anniversary Meetings of the
Society, and of the meetings of the Council, and the minutes of each meeting
shall be read as the fii-st business of the nest ensuing meeting of the same kind
in the same Division of the County. At the Council Meetings, to be held at
Watford only, five Members shall form a quorum.

VI. Members shall have the privilege of attending all the Anniversary,
Ordinary, and Field Meetings of the Society, and of inti-oducing one Visitor at
any such meeting, and shall be entitled to receive a copy of all publications
issued by the Society dm-ing their membership, and to the use of the Library in
accordance with the library regulations.

VII. The Annual Subscription for Ordinary Members shall be Ten Shillings,
payable immediately after their election, and afterwards becoming due in advance
on the 1st of January in each year ; but Members elected in the last two months in
any year shall be exempt from the payment of subscription for that year. Xo
Member shall be entitled to any of the privileges of the Society whose subscrip-
tion is twelve months in arrear ; and any Jlember whose subscription is two years
in aiTear may be excluded from the Society by the Council.

VIII. Any Ordinary Member may compound for his or her Annual Subscrip-
tions by a payment of Five Pounds.

IX. All Ordinary Members shall pay an Enti-ance Fee of Ten Shillings, in
addition to their first year's subscription or life composition, before they are
entitled to any of the privileges of membership.

vol. II.— ft. VII. F

1 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE

X. The Honorary Members shall be ladies or gentlemen of eminence in
Natural Science, or who shall have done some special service to the Society, and
whose usual place of residence is not in the County of Hertford, and they shall
be elected only at the Anniversary Meetings by the Members upon tlie recommen-
dation of the Council, not more than five to be elected in any one year.

XI. Every Candidate for admission shall be proposed by two or more Members,
who shall sign a certificate in recommendation of such candidate, one of the pro-
posers from personal knowledge. The certificate shall be read from the Chair at
the Ordinary Meeting following its receipt by either of the Secretaries, and the
candidate shall be balloted for at the next Ordinarv Meeting at Watturd, one
black ball in six excluding.

XII. Members wishing to resign at the termination of any year are required
to inform one of the Secretaries, in writing, of their intention to do so, on or
before the 30th of November in that year.

XIII. The Accounts of the Society shall be made up to the 31st of December
in each year, and audited by two Auditors appointed at the first ensuing Ordinary
Meeting at Watford ; and the Balance Sheet, together with a Report on the
general progress of the Society during the preceding year, shall be submitted to
the Anniversary Meeting in February.

XIV. All the funded and other property of the Society shall be vested in
three or more Trustees, who shall be Life Members of the Society, appointed by
the Council.

XV. The Society shall discourage the practice of removing rare plants from
tlie localities of which they are characteristic, and of exterminating rare birds,
fish, and other animals, and shall use its infiuence with landowners and others for
the protection of the characteristic birds of the County : the rarer botanical
specimens collected at the Field Meetings shall be chiefly such as can be gathered
without disturbing the roots of the plants ; and notes on the habits of birds shall
be recorded instead of collecting specimens, either of the birds or of their eggs.

XVI. The Council may authorise the Society to undertake the investigation
of any subject of a scientific nature relating to the County, and to publish the
results of any such investigation.

XVII. No Rule shall be altered except by a majority of votes of the Members
present at a Special Meeting at AV afford called for that purpose. The Council
may at any time, and shall upon a requisition signed by not less than twelve
Members, convene a Special Meeting ; and a printed notice stating the pvupose
for which the meeting is convened shall be sent to each Member not less than ten
days before such meeting, at which no business shall be considered except that for
■which it was convened.

XVIII. A copy of these Rules shall be sent by one of the Secretaries to each
Member upon election to membership of the Society.

A vote was then taken and the members present were nnani-
mously in favour of the adoption of the Rules.

It was then decided that the Rules should date from the 1st of
July, and that the four vacancies in the Council occasioned by
Rule 3 should be left to be filled up at the next Anniversary
Meeting.*

* One of these vacancies was provisionally filled up by the Council by the
appointment of Mr. R. B. Croft, R.N., F.L.S., as Honorary Secretary 2>ro tent.
for East Plerts.

watford natural history society. 11

Ordinary Meeting, 12th June, 1879.
J. GwYX Jeffreys, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., President, ia the Chair.

Mr. Robert Barclay, High Leigh, Hoddesdon ; Mr. Arthur
Ernest Gibbs, Cumberland lload, St. Albans ; Mr. "William Odell,
Castle Street, Hertford ; and Mr. William Wickham, High Street,
"Ware, were elected Members of the Society.

Eobert Etheridge, E.R.S., F.R.S.E., E.G.S., Paleontologist to
the Geological Survey of Great Britain ; and James Edward
Harting, F.L.S., E.Z.S., Member of the British Ornithologists'
Union, Editor of the ' Zoologist,' etc., were elected Honorary
Members.

The following communications were read : —

1. "The Temperature of Thirty Summers and Thirty Winters
at Hitchin." By William Lucas. {Vide p. 250.)

2. " The Recent Discovery of Silurian Rocks in Hertfordshire,
and their Relation to the "Water-bearing Strata of the London
Basin." By John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.G.S., etc., Hon. Sec.
{Fide -p. 241.)

Mr. Littleboy said that the question of water-supply was a very interesting
and important one. The principal matter was whether these deep borings would
rob the springs, and so lower the level of the water as to affect the supply of the
rivers. He, however, understood that there was an unfailing supply of water in
the Chalk. When Rlessrs. Meux's boring reached the Lower Chalk, was the
supply great? He saw by Mr. Hopkinson's diagram that a thin layer of the
Lower Greensand ran under the boring. When that was reached did the supply
increase ?

Mr. Hopkinson explained that in the Chalk there were large, more or less
vertical, fissures full of water, and also underground rivers ; but when they
reached the Chalk Marl, which was a slightly argillaceous deposit, they missed
these, and therefore there was no great accession of water on reaching the lowest
beds of the Chalk. The effect of the borings was to lower the underground
reservoirs. Instead of the water-level being horizontal, its siu'face was in the
form of curves, the apex of each curve or system of curves being midway between
the various outlets, towards which there was a gradual lowering of what had
been termed the " plane of saturation," whether these outlets were natural ones
as river-courses or springs at the outcrops of the water-bearing strata, or were
artificially caused by borings or well-sinkings. The division of the Lower
Greensand met with at Messrs. Meux's was a hard impervious rock, the permeable
sands being absent ; and therefore there was no increase in the supply of water.

3. " On a Boulder now in the Garden of the Royston Institute."
By H. George Fordham, F.G.S. ( Vide p. 249.)

4. Extract of a letter from the Rev. J. C. Clutterbuck, M.A.,
to Dr. Brett, giving notes on a section at the Oxhey Cutting,
"Watford, presented to the Society by him. ( Tide p. 250.)

5. Extract of a letter from the Rev. R. H. Webb, M.A., to the
Secretary, giving miscellaneous botanical notes. ( Vide p. 250.)

6. A letter from Mr. Abel S. H. Smith, "Watton, to the Secretary,
on birds observed in his neighbourhood.'*''

* The infoi-mation in this letter will be incorporated in ]\Ir. Littleboy's "Notes
on Birds observed in 1879."

lii rROCEEDIXGS OF THE

7. Extract of a letter from Mr. H. George Fordham, F.G.S., to
the Secretary, on the Partridge removing her eggs when in danger
of being hatched.

Mr. Fordham, referring to Mr. Littleboy's account of a parti-idge removing
her eggs,* and to the discussiou which occurred on the subject, t quoted the
following extract from Yarrell's ' British Lirds,' 2nd edition, vol. ii, p. 372 : —

" A gentleman living near Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, was one day riding over
his farm and superintending his ploughmen, who w'ere ploughing a piece of fallow
laud. He saw a partridge glide olf her nest so near the foot of one of his plough-
horses that he thought the eggs must be crushed ; this, however, was not the
case ; but he found that the old bird was on the point of hatching, as several of
the eggs were beginning to chip. He saw the old bird return to her nest the
instant he left the spot. It was evident that the next round of the plough must
bury the eggs and nest in the furrow. His surprise was great when, returning
with the plough, he came to the spot, and saw the nest indeed, but the eggs and
bird were gone. An idea struck him that she had removed her eggs ; and he
found her, before he left the field, sitting under the hedge upon twenty-one eggs,
and she brought off nineteen birds. The round of ploughing had occupied about
twenty minutes, in which time she, probably assisted by the cock bird, had
removed the twenty-one eggs to a distance of about forty yards."

8. A letter from Mr. Eobert Hanbury, Poles, Ware, to the
Secretary, on the probable cause of the recent destruction of chestnut
trees on his property.

A damaged branch of one of these trees being handed round, it was the
general opinion that the injury was done by squirrels.

9. "On the Micro-Megascope." Ey Arthur Cottam, P.R.A.S.
{Vide^. 252.)

The President said that the Hydrographer at the Admiralty, who
had just returned from Cyprus, had given him a bag of mud which
had been brought up by an anchor from a depth of 4|- fathoms in
the harbour of Famagosta, which he had been surveying. Mr.
Cottam being interested in the Diatomacefe, he would hand the bag
to him for examination, only asking him to give them notes on any
discoveries he might make.

Numerous objects of interest were exhibited, including fossils
from the Wenlock Shale recently discovered at the New iiiver
Company's boring at "Ware, exhibited by Mr. Etheridge ; fossils
from the Gault and Wenlock Shale from the same boring, exhibited
by Mr. Hopkinson in illustration of his paper; fossils from the
Chalk at AV afford, exhibited by Mr. Herbert Wailes ; fossils from
the London Clay at Bushey, and from gravel pits at Watford,
exhibited by Dr. Brett ; pottery (probably Eoman) from ancient
pottery Avorks which have been discovered on the site of the Alden-
ham Grammar School, exhibited by Dr. Brett ; a section at the
Oxhey Cutting of the London and North-Western Railway, pre-
sented to the Society by the Rev. J. C. Clutterbuck ; photographs
of diatoms presented by Mr. J. Vincent Elsden ; and a badger shot
in Long Spring AVood, exhibited by the Earl of Essex.

* ' Transactions,' Vol. II, pp. 29 and 35. f lb. p. xi.

WATFOKD NATUKAL HISTOKY SOCIETY. liii

Field Meeting, Hth June, 1879.
Harpenden and Rothamsted.

The object of this Fieki Meetiug being to enable members of the
Society to gain some knowledge of the general plan and chief
results of the agricultural experiments which have for nearly forty-
five years been carried on at Rothamsted, the party which as-
sembled at Harpenden Station on the arrival, at three o'clock, of
the train from St. Albans, proceeded at once to the " Lawes Testi-
monial Laboratory," on Harpenden Common, scarcely noticing the
village, whii'h is most beautifully situated, and of considerable
interest from its historical associations. Most of the members
forming this party, which numbered about thirty, had come by
train from Watford to St. Albans, where they were joined by
members from that neighbourhood; and on the way from Har-
penden Station to the laboratory the number was augmented by
members from the eastern side of the county, who had arrived by
an earlier train.

At the laboratory the members were received by Dr. J. H. Gilbert,
F.R.S., under whose direction the various experiments have been
carried on since 1843 ; at first on a very small scale in a barn near,
and since 1855 in this building, which was then presented by public
subscription to Mr. John Bennet Lawes, LL.D., F.li.S., who had
carried on experiments from about the year 1834, when the
Eothamsted estate came into his possession.

Dr. Gilbert first gave a brief account of the origin, plan, and
principal results of the experiments, both in the field and in the
laboratory. In the field-experiments " some of the most important
crops of rotation, each separately, year after year," have been
grown, "for many years in succession on the same land, without
manure, with farmyard manure, and with a great variety of
chemical manures ; the same description of manure being, as a rule,
applied year after year on the same plot. Experiments on an
actual course of rotation, with difierent manures, have also been
made." At the laboratory samples of all the experimental crops
are dried and burnt, and the composition of the ash determined,
and weighed portions of the samples and of their ashes are pre-
served for future reference, there being about 25,000 bottles con-
taining samples of various kinds, including annual products and
soils, now in the museum, all of which were seen to be most care-
fully and fully labelled.

Amongst the experiments to which Dr. Gilbert drew attention
may be mentioned the determination of the influence of dift'crent
seasons on crops similarly treated, of the limit of capability of
soils, and of the point of their exhaustion, samples of soils from the
experimental plots, for every 9 inches, down to 54 inches in depth,
being preserved. In treating of the experiments on the feeding of
animals by certain foods, he stated that ash-analyses were made of
the indi^-idual organs and parts, the nitrogenous constituents being
determined in the various portions before being reduced to ash.

liv PEOCEEDINGS OF THE

Turning then to some of the botanical results of the experiments, he
explained the contents of a wall-case showing the principal results
of the botanical separation of grasses and other meadow-plants in
1867, the twelfth year of experiments which still continue to be
made on the mixed herbage of permanent grass land.*

Other rooms besides the chemical department and museum were
visited, including the furnace, drying, balance, gas-analysis, calcu-
lating, and store rooms, and the members were then conducted by
Dr. Gilbert through the " allotment gardens " to the experimental
farm. The rain, percolation, and other gauges were first examined.
There are two rain-gauges, one of the usual construction and five
inches in diameter, and the other square, one-thousandth of an
acre in area, and with a plate glass edge. The three gauges for
the determination of the quantity and composition of the water
percolating through the soil are also one-thousandth of an acre in
area, and are respectively 20, 40, and 60 inches deep, the soil they
contain, with its subsoil, being in its natural state of consolidation.
In addition to these gauges to each of the differently manured
plots of the permanent experimental wheat-field, there is a separate
drain-pipe, so that the drainage-waters can from time to time be
collected and analysed.

The private grovmds adjoining the residence of Mr. Lawes in
Rothamsted Park were then entered, and, after passing in front of
the house, and thence through a fine avenue of lime trees, whose
arching branches, rooting in the soil and then uprising in a
dense tangle of young shoots, form most picturesque leafy corridors,
the members arrived at a portion of Mr. Lawes' park about 8 acres
in area, divided into 24 plots varying from one-eighth to half an
acre each. Dr. Gilbert here explained the treatment each plot
received and some of the most important results obtained.

The first plots examined showed that mixed alkalies alone, while
they improve the character of the herbage, but little increase the
quantity of pi'oduce ; that nitrate of soda penetrates the soil and
encourages the growth of deep-rooted plants which are not much
affected by drought ; and that it is impossible to get out in the
produce any large amount of manure of any kind which has been
put into the land, about two-thirds of the nitrogen supplied being
unrecovered in the increase of crop when ammonia-salts are applied,
and only about one-half when nitrate of soda is employed.

In a plot (No. 3) to which no manure had ever been applied, the
average of four botanical separations, at intervals of five years each,
gave 49 species of grasses and other plants, the order Leguminosse
contributing about 9 per cent. ; in another (9), where ammonia salts
had been added to mineral manure, the number of species was
reduced to 29, there being only one leguminous plant ; and in the
next (10), to which, with the exception of potass, the same manure
had been applied, there was not a single leguminous plant left,

* A paper on this subject, by Mr. J. J. Willis, has been communicated to the
Society, and published in the ' Transactions,' Vol. II, p. 140.

WATFOKD NATTJEAL HISTOKY SOCIETY. Iv

the grasses having entirely pushed them out. In the adjoining
plot (11) a great excess of ammonia salts added to the minerals
had reduced the number of species from 49 wlien unmanured, to 1 8.
At a plot (4) showing a number of so-called "fairy rings," Dr. Gilbert
mentioned the curious fact that, although the fungi which grow on
fairy rings are exceedingly rich in nitrogen, they grow on places
where there is the least nitrogen supplied in manure ; and at
another (13) that with cut wheat-straw there was a more compli-
cated herbage than without straw, and a much greater increase of
produce than the amount of straw added would have led him to
expect.

" Hoos Field," in which about 4^ acres are devoted to experi-
ments on the continuous growth of barley ; " Broadbank Field,"
of about 13 acres, devoted to experiments on the continuous growth
of wheat ; and "Geescroft Field," in which about three-quarters of
an acre are devoted to experiments on the growth of oats, were
then visited in succession. Dr. Gilbert giving the principal results
arrived at from the application of different manures. The various
results obtained by sowing at different periods of the year, and by
applying the manures in varying quantities according to the state
of the weather or the difference in climate, were also dilated on by
him. In one case he stated that after a heavy dressing of ammonia-
salts a quantity of nitrates was found in the drainage waters, which
would correspond to a loss of nearly 181bs. of nitrogen per acre,
provided an inch of rain had passed as drainage of that strength.
On another occasion, after a heavy dresssing of nitrate of soda, the
quantity of nitrates found in the drainage water, reckoned in the
same way, would be equivalent to a loss of about 1 3lbs. of nitrogen
per acre. Thus in wet seasons, such as we have lately had, and
might in our climate usually expect, it was the most economical
for the agriculturist to apply his nitrogenous manures as a top-
dressing to the crops in the spring, whilst the mineral manures, such
as superphosphate of lime, etc., might be ploughed in with the
seed, as phosphoric acid and potash were in a greater degree
retained by the soil, and less liable to be washed away during wet
winters.

Some other fields were then visited, from one of which a distant
view of Flamsted Church tower was seen ; and after hearing some
particulars of the experiments on various leguminous and potato
crops, to which these fields are appropriated, the members took
leave of Dr. Gilbert, thanking him heartily for the amount of
interesting and valuable information they had received from him.*

While a few then returned to Harpenden, the majority left the
park in an opposite direction, pursuing their way by Hammond's
End along bye-roads and across fields to Hcdbourn Bury, where
they had been invited to tea by Mr. and Mrs. Arnold.

After a substantial and most acceptable repast, for which the

* Only a few of the points treated upon have been but briefly alluded to in
this report.

Ivi PROCEEDIXGS OF THE

thanks of the participants to tlioir liost and hostess were appro-
priately expressed by Mr. Littleboy, the river Ver, on which
Kedbourn liury is situated, was followed as far as Bow Bridge,
where the river is crossed by the Redbourn Boad, which was then
taken towards St. Albans. It was soon however left for the more
pleasant fields ; and, passing through what once were the gardens
of cottages, now long untenanted, the river's side was again
reached. A short stroll along its banks brought the party to
Kingsbury, and after resting there awhile the Ver was again
followed along the picturesque " Water "Walk " to the St. Albans
Station of the London and North-Western Railway.

Field Meeting, 25Tn June, 1879.
Tewin "Water, Digswell, and Ayot Green, AVelwyn.

A central locality was this year chosen for the annual whole-day
Field Meeting, in view of the extension and change of name of the
Society, to enable members from all parts of the county to take
part in it. Members of the Luton j^atural History Society had
also been invited to be present, so that, had the weather been
favourable, a large attendance might fairly have been expected.
There was, however, no cessation in the morning of the rain
which had been falling almost continuously the previous day ;
indeed, with few exceptions, daily throughout the month ; and
owing doubtless to the prospect of a thoroughly wet day, but six
members of the Luton Society and about three times that number
of the Watford Society were present.

The locality was also chosen for the beauty and variety of its
scenery. " To say that Digswell is the prettiest place in Hertford-
shire," remarks our county historian, Mr. Cussans,* "may be
considered a bold assertion, but it would indeed be difficult, through-
out the whole of the county of Hertford, so renowned for the beauty
of its scenery, to find another spot where wood and water, hill and
plain, are more picturesquely combined;" and those members
who, on this occasion, assembled at AVelwyn station at lialf-past
eleven, would doubtless, notwithstanding the almost complete
realisation of the forebodings of the morning, fully endorse this
statement.

Descending the hill into the beautiful valley of the Mimram, and
then taking the road towards Hertford, the first place visited was
an extensive gravel-pit excavated in the hill-side to the south of
Tewin Water. The section here seen shows the presence of an
outlier of the Woolwich and Reading Series (represented by sandy
beds and mottled clay), reposing upon the Chalk, and overlaid by a
gravel most probably of glacial origin.

At a short distance farther on the Hertford road a footpath across
some fields soon brought the party to Tew in Water, remains of the

* 'History of Hertfordshire -Broadwater Hundred,' p. 251. — 1877.

WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. Ivii

old Hertford road being noticed on the way. In a heavy shower
of rain the pretty woodland walk by the side of the little river
Mimram, alfording every now and then in its windings a fresh
glimpse of water, wood, and hill, at length disclosed to view the
now more attractive sight of an empty barn, to which the party
hastened, reflecting when nnder its welcome shelter how enjoyable
might have been the walk just taken in tine sunny weather.

The rain partly ceasing, the barn was left, not, however, without
some reluctance and hesitation, and a few minutes walk, in a gentle
di'izzle, brought the party out of Tewin Park and within sight of
the fine viaduct, above a quarter of a mile long and one hundred
feet high, with forty piers thirty feet apart, which carries the Great
Northern llailway across the Mimram valley. Crossing the route
taken on leaving the station, a circuit of about two miles having
been made, and passing under this viaduct, Digswell Park was soon
entered, and Digswell Church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist,
was visited. In it are some fine brasses in memory of the Perient
family, and other objects of antiquarian interest, of which accounts
may be found in our county histories. It Avas remarked that the
floor of the church had evidently been considerably lowered, and
that there had at one time been a fine oak ceiling, a portion of
which had been left undisturbed in one of the side aisles.

On leaving the church an avenue of very fine Spanish chestnuts
tempted the party into the grounds of the Manor House, and one
of the trees was measured and found to have a circumference of
five yards at the height of three feet from the ground.

The rain had now ceased for a time, and a pleasant walk through
fields and woods and across an avenue of lime trees brought the
party to the Kectory grounds. Openings hei'e and there in the
thickly- wooded grounds now strolled through, disclosed distant
views of hilly woodland scenery, and the geological characters upon
which this scenery depended were remarked upon. A halt was
now called for luncheon, which had to be partaken of standing
under shelter of the trees. Here some of the botanical finds of
the morning were examined, and amongst them the tway blade, the
bird's nest, the eai'ly purple, and the spotted orchis were produced.

Sherrards Park Wood, a good botanical hunting ground, was next
strolled through, but being on the Boulder- clay, to which indeed its
presence is due, it was difficult to find a path through it on which
mud or water was not standing for some considerable depth, and
impossible to wander off the path in search of its botanical
treasures.

The single line of rails to Dunstable, which leaves the main line
at the same spot as the Hertford branch, but in the opposite direc-
tion, passes through this wood in a deep cutting, which exposes a
good section of the Reading beds reposing on the Chalk and capped
by boulder-clay and pebble-gravel. A little farther on, the lino
passes almost through a brick-field, the next place to be visited.
The route chosen was by Ayot Green, not the nearest way, but the
Green is well worth visiting ; cottages in picturesque groups skirt-

VOL. IT. — PT. VII. G

Iviii mOCEKDINGS OF THE

ing tliG triangular piece of common ground which gives the name
of Ayot Green to this part of the parish of Ayot St. Peters, and
fine old trees, apparently the remnants of a double avenue from
which many have been lost by decay, giving the impression that the
hamlet is an unmodernised relic of olden times, which the avenue
of somewhat more recently planted oaks leading off the Green to
13rocket Hall tends rather to confirm.

Leaving this avenue to the left, the right-hand road was taken,
and just past the Ayot station the brick-field was entered. Here a
continuation of the Sherrards Wood outlier of the Tertiary Series
was seen, with the London Clay and its basement-bed distinctly
shown above the Woolwich and Heading beds, and overlaid at the
highest parts of the brickfield Avith a sandy pebble-gravel. The
sections exposed in the various pits being searched for fossils by
the geologists of the party, a number of sharks' teeth, and oyster
and other shells, were found in the basement-bed of the London
Clay ; while the dyer's greenwood ( Genista tindoria) growing in
profusion and in full bloom, and other plants which find their most
congenial habitat in workcd-out pits of sand and clay, attracted the
attention of the botanists.

A few minutes' walk from the brick-kiln brought the party to
The Fryth, the residence of Mr. C. W. Wilshere, who had invited
the Society to visit him on the way back to Welwyn Station. Mr.
Wilshere first showed the members round that portion of his exten-
sive and beautiful grounds which immediately adjoins the house,
pointing out the more remarkable of the particularly well-grown
evergreen and forest trees which would alone make the grounds
well worthy of a visit. From the terrace in front of the house
a splendid view of the surrounding country was obtained, especially
towards Hertford, across the valley of the Mimram and over a
well-wooded hill, in which direction the spire of Bengeo Church
formed a conspicuous object.

The house was then entered, and after tea and other refresh-
ments had been partaken of, Mr. Wilshere showed the members his
large and valuable antiquarian collection, consisting principally of
sculptures and marbles from the Catacombs of Home, the age and
history of the more interesting of which he gave. Some time was
thus spent while waiting for a heavy shower to clear off, and after
thanking Mr. Wilshere for his kind thouglit in providing food for
mind and body alike, The Fryth was left, and Welwyn Station
reached by a more direct route than had been intended, there not
being time to visit the chalk- and gravel-pits near Welwyn. There
being a few minutes to spare at the station, the railway embank-
ments near were visited, and a "pipe" of sand and clay in
the chalk examined. This '' pipe " is of large diameter, and it was
noticed that through the gradual dissolution of the chalk, by water
holding carbonic acid in solution, the sand and clay, which appeared
to belong to the Heading beds, of which no other trace near w;is
seen, had been so gently and gradually let down, that the position
of a band of flints, passing across the pipe from the chalk on either
side, had not been disturbed.

WATFORD NATURAL HISTORY SOCraTY. lix

Before the party separated it was generally agreed that, notwith-
standing the rain, a very agreeable and interesting day had been
spent ; and this having been mentioned as the last field meeting of
the season, at the solicitation of a lady member, another was pro-
jected, the members of the Luton Society suggesting a visit to
their neighbourhood.

Field Meeting, 12th July, 1879.

Chiltern Green, Luton.

In response to an invitation from the Luton Antiquarian and
Natural History Society, Members of the Hertfordshire Natural
History Society assembled at Chiltorn Green Station at a few
minutes past three, and were there met by members of the Luton
Society, each Society being represented by from fifteen to twenty
members.

Permission to walk along the line having been received, the
Dumhills railway-cuttings were first inspected. No sooner, how-
ever, was the station left, than rain began to fall, continuing to do
so more or less heavily during the remainder of the day. The fine
section of the Challi exposed in these cuttings was therefore
examined under rather adverse circumstances, the members neces-
sarily geologising under the shelter of their umbrellas.

Mr. J. Saunders, of Luton, who has for many years made a study
of the geology of the neighbourhood, here acted as guide, pointing
out the chief characteristics of the diiferent beds in the Chalk.
The Upper Chalk, or chalk-with-flints, was first seen, the section
traversed being a descending one from south-east to north-west,
and that being the highest bed exposed. Next in succession was
seen the chalk-rock, here about two feet in thickness, and having
numerous characteristic fossils ; while underlying it the Lower
Chalk, or chalk- without- flints, was the lowest bed here exposed.

Before leaving the cutting Mr. Saunders gave a brief general
account of the geology of the neighbourhood, pointing out that
the hill on the opposite side of the valley in which Luton is
situated presented an exactly similar and parallel section to this,
showing that the valley was one of denudation, the strata with
which it was at one time filled up having been removed by the
denuding action of rain, rivers, or glaciers.

Turning off the railway-line into the fields a slight elevation
was ascended on the right, and a path taken through a wood to the
ruins of Someries Castle. Here Mr. William Austin read extracts
from a paper, recently read by Mr. Thomas Hodgkinson before the
Luton Society, giving a history of the Manor of Someries from the
Norman Conquest to the eighteenth century, the Castle, which now
forms a picturesque ruin, being stated to have been erected in the
year 1448.

A chalk-pit was next visited, at one part of which numerous
fissures filled with sand were noticed, some having a transverse

Ix PEOCEEDINGS.

instead of the usual vertical direction. One of these " pipes," after
descending perpendicularly from the surface for some distance,
struck inwards or behind the exposed face of the pit, reappearing
below a bed of flints which had undergone no change.

The members of the two societies then assembled at Chiltern
Hall, where a considerable addition to their number was made, and
in a large barn, which was admirably suited to the entertainment
of the now numerous party, a substantial tea was j)rovided by
Alderman Cumberland.

At the conclusion of the repast, Mr. H. Brown, President of the
Luton Society, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Cumberland for
his kind hospitality. Referring to the beauty of the neighbour-
hood, Mr. Brown said that from near where they were now seated
as fine views of Luton and the district as any with Avhich he was
acquainted might be obtained in fine weather ; and, within a mile or
two, Stevenage, Welwyn, and other distant parts of Hertfordshire
could be seen. Dr. Brett, in seconding the vote of thanks on
behalf of the Hertfordshire Society, said that this weather reminded
him of the words of 'Punch' : "Man is not wholly amphibious yet,"
but he did not know, if the rain continued, how long it might be
before he became so.

The members then left in detached parties, some walking to
Chiltern Green and others to Luton Station, and others again, in-
cluding most of the ladies, taking advantage of conveyances which
Mr. Cumberland kindly placed at their disposal.

TRA]SrSACTIO:N^S

OF THE

WATFOED NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

YOL. II.

1. — Faitous Teees in Heetfoedshtre.

By the Eev. Caxon Gee, D.D.

[Read 18th October, 1877.]

In preparing this paper for to-night I have considered that it
was to be read before a society whose primary interest was Ifature
herself. I reminded myself that the scope of this society took in
history only so far as it was "Natural Histoiy," or the history of
IS^ature, I have therefore thought that it would be well to tell you
at the outset the little I know of the nature of such trees as adorn
our county. I have thought that, so, I should save my paper fi-om
being one long list or catalogue of remarkable trees, while we should
be prepared to estimate aright the natural circumstances upon which
the fame of those selected for honourable mention ought to rest —
on their great size in height or gii'th, or on their extreme age. I
shall only allow myself to eke out my meagre knowledge of natural
objects, by combining some information as to the story of certain
trees in Hei-tfordshire, which would give interest to trees otherwise
unimportant.

I shall therefore begin my paper by an attempt to say something
upon trees in general, and particularly upon those classes or kinds
of trees from which our famous instances are to be taken. For, let
me say before I go further, I pui-pose, if not from necessity, at least
for convenience sake, to exclude all those ornamental trees which
seem scarcely to have settled down amongst us or made themselves
quite at home in Hertfordshire. I shall refrain from touching upon
the Araucarias, Deodaras, and many varieties of the Pinus tribe, of
which I know there are choice specimens in this immediate neigh-
bourhood. I shall look for my famous trees among oaks, elms,
beeches, limes, chestnuts, and ashes. I am quite aware that even
then there are cedars, sycamores, birches, maples, and others, that
are left out in the cold by such an arrangement. This only shows
that I have greedily helped myself to too wide a subject. Eut
against this charge I would plead, in extenuation, that I have really
opened the way for closer observers to follow me. I think some

VOL. II. — PT. I. 1

2 HEV. DK. GEE — FAMOUS TREES IN HEETFOEDSHLRE.

might well take a night for the full examination of one particular
sort of tree, and make a monograph of the beech or lime. To this
more exact and full treatment my sketchy paper may serve as a
profitable introduction.

I would break ground with a remark upon the claim of certain
trees to be indigenous among us — to be, really, English trees. This
consideration will bring before us at once the oak, which of right
must be placed in the forefront of our studies to-night. It has been
said that the oak has more claim to be a truly English tree than
most. A token of this may be seen in the readiness with which the
oak seeds among us and grows from seed. Many will tell you that
the oak grows best, naturally, from its oak-corn or acorn. This
distinction may be strongly seen when you contrast with the oak
the common elm. The elm does not ripen, nor, I believe, often form,
a seed in this country. It certainly is propagated most commonly
by slips. Of course the cedar is not indigenous. The first cedars
planted in this country may be identified, at least by tradition.
" There are two cedars now standing," says Mr. Johns, " in a garden
at Chelsea, and said by Lord Holland to have been planted in 1683
by his ancestor. Sir Stephen Fox." The lime or linden seems
German by its association with Unter den Linden, or French, with
its connexions with Fontainebleau, or Swiss, from the old custom of
planting a lime tree wherever they won a victory from their op-
pressors. The beech is expressly said by Caesar not to have been
found in Britain, and its Welsh name " Fawydd " is taken to be an
adaptation of the Latin Fapis. Indeed these, our old Roman
masters, are thought to have naturalised here the chestnut, lime,
sycamore, box, and laurel. But they do not claim to have intro-
duced the oak, and we may safely declare the oak to have been
English in pre-natnral-historic times. No one can doubt that it
thrives well with us and takes a giant's grip of our soil. It is said
that even Americans, accustomed to the giant trees of their forests,
yet find an unmatched statcliness and grace in the English oaks.*
Our climate suits it. No one ever heard of an oak as being affected
by the severity of a winter, whatever that severity may be. We
may say of the oak that its gnarled and knotty trunk is engendered
by the rigours of our Northern skies. So Kingsley says of our-
selves —

" 'Tis the hard grey weather
Breeds the Englishman."

So very long has the oak been among us that we are scarcely aware
that he seems to have had an elder half-brother ; at least, that much
of the oldest oak timber in this country is not of the same kind as
that now in use. What we call oak timber now is the wood of the
Querms pedunculata. This has its fruit stalked and its leaves sessile.
The other oak, the Quercus sessillfora, has its fruit sessile and its
leaves stalked. This latter is the oak which furnished timber to
some of our oldest buildings — notably to St. Alban's Abbey and to

* " English Parks have trees as fine and effective as any of ours." — Mrs. Stowe,
in * Sunny Memories.'

EEV. DR. GEE — FAMOUS TREES IN HERTFORDSHIRE. 3

Westminster Hall. The old wood is so far unlike our modern notion
of oak timber, particularly in the absence or indistinctness of the
silver grain, that it was long considered to have been chestnut.
Now, the distinction which I have just laid down seems to be re-
cognised and to entitle this old timber to be called oak. I may
mention here that at the hospital of St. Cross, near Winchester, I
myself saw oak of a very singular, dark grain. The brother who
" showed me round " told me that it was considered a specialty, and
that a visitor had offered much money to be allowed to take it out
and replace it. He added that the peculiar grain was commonly
attributed to the way in which the wood was cut. The extreme
length of each plank was only five feet and it might all have been
cut crossways.

A natural question arises at once with, regard to the oak, viz., as
to its extreme age. I mean as to the age which it would attain if
left to itself, or as to the age of some patriarch of our own acquain-
tance. I do not see how this can be ascertained except by docu-
ments, and documents will not go back as far as we desire.
Granted that an oak marks its growth by natural indications, yet
when growth ceases, these indications stop. I^ot to be irreverent,
an old oak is like an old horse with the teeth-marks " gone out of
his mouth " as the ostler would express it. I cannot tell upon
what grounds the Salcy Forest Oak in Northamptonshire is so con-
fidently pronounced to be 1,500 years old. We can make no
experiments you know for ourselves in this direction, unless you
would repeat the failure of the good old lady, who, having heard
that a tortoise would live 100 years, bought a young specimen
that she might judge for herself.* I conclude that the only
approach to investigation would be to notice carefully the growth
of an oak still growing, and to calculate in what time, propor-
tionally, an old oak would have attained its girth, and then to
allow a proportionate time for decay. Of course this growth
would vary much from relation to soil and aspect ; still something
may be done in this way. Our Lord Lieutenant, a lover of trees
and an observer long before I took up the subject, has most kindly
entered into my endeavours to interest you to-night. He has given
me his experience with regard to trees at Gorhambury. He
summarises his conclusions as being, that an oak increases in girth f
half-an-inch per annum, and a cedar two inches in the same time.
But in the memoranda which he kindly furnished there is a
difference between the oaks of which he gave me the measure-
ments. I do not know what experience the poet Dryden had of
trees. He most likely gives us the general opinion of his own day
in laying down poetically that an oak's duration is 900 years :

" Three centuries he grows, and three he stays
Supreme in state, and in three more decays."

* This illustration is said to be as old as the time of Hierocles and first applied
to the crow — longava comix.

t Throughout this paper the term "giith" is taken in the popular sense of
circimijKroice.

4 EET. DE. GEE FAMOUS TREES IN HERTFOEDSniEE.

Perhaps this may not be an inappropriate place to give you the best
version I know of the common prognostication of weather founded
on the earlier appearance of the leaves of the oak or of the ash.
The prognostication seems little worth, the earlier leafage having
relation to what has been, rather than to what will be. The deep-
rooted oak thrives best in a dry season, and the shallower ash in
rainy springtimes. The verse is as follows : —

" If the oak opens before the ash,
'Twill be warm and dry, ^vith good wheat to thrash ;
But if ash leaves open before the oak,
There'll be cold, and of rain too great a soak.
If the oak and the ash open nearly together.
Look out for a summer of changeable weather." *

I string together a few remarks on other trees generally. I have
spoken of elms as foreigners, but I admit that they were naturalised
in the times of the Heptarchy. Like the old family of Coplestane,

" They were at hame
When the Conqueror came."

They have given Saxon names to many English villages, as Elm-
bridge, Elmham, Elmsthorpe, Elmstead, Elmstone, and Elmwell.
The elm's failing is to become hollow at 80 years of age, and at
that time its arms and roots both became brittle. It has a special
beetle to itself called the elm-beetle {Scolytus destructor). Its
great value is for articles subjected to alternate wet and dry con-
ditions, e.g. for pumps, troughs, conduits, water-wheels, and water-
gates. If the elm be originally an immigrant, he has since be-
come an emigrant also. There is this much to be said in support
of the idea that the wych elm does ripen a seed ; so it may be
thought to have been the earlier or more recognised elm. Perhaps
it was from his own personal connexion with this country that
Philip the Second of Spain planted the avenues of Madrid with
English elms. Learned men differ as to the origin of the name wych
elm. There are three derivations proposed. 1. Erom the Saxon
word "wich," a village or town, as Sandwich, Middlewich, etc.
This would make the wych elm to be " the village elm." 2. Erom
the word wych meaning a box or press, such having been made
originally of this wood. Our modern word hutch would be a cor-
ruption of this, and wych (spelt at first hivmcce) is applied in old
writings to the ark of the testimony, as also to provision boxes in
daily use. We have, in old writings, ''wyches for the cheeses."
3. From a superstitious notion that witches frequented this tree,
dancing round it or dwelling under it. So far as I can distinguish
the original orthography, it seems in favour of the second meaning,
which would derive the word from wych, a chest or box.

The beech tree peculiarly claims the neighbouring county of
Buckingham as its own. It gives its name to the county, as well as

* I have found this and much other tree lore in an article on Ornamental
Planting in the ' Quarterly Review ' for July 1876 (No. 283). I have made
very free use of the information there contained ; sometimes adopting the very
expressions.

EEV. DE. GEE FAMOUS TREES IX HEKTEOEDSHIKE. 5

to the indispensable thing, hook, and, perhaps also, to the valuable
thing bacon. In this county of Hertford it has more variety in its
way of growth than any other tree which I have observed.* We
see the difference not far from here. The beech close to the
Langleybury Parsonage, which seemingly has always stood out by
itself, is a model of what a fully developed tree may become. It
scai'cely seems to have lost a twig from the first. It was carefully
ironed in Mr. Whittingstall's time. The hardest thing you can say
of it is that it is too perfect to be picturesque. An artist would
choose a tree more twisted and deflected. At Ashridge you may
see the contrary form of elegance which a beech will take, when
crowded ia its nursery, and, as the expression is, "etiolated" by
too close proximity of its neighbours. Then it will run up straight
as an aiTow and upright as a dart, or "a rod of steel," as my
correspondent describes such beeches. He who does not go, before
this very October is out, to see the King and Queen beeches at
Ashridge, does not deserve to sit under trees or biographers of
trees. These royal trees, girthing only 11 feet or 11 feet 6 inches
— the lady is the stouter — run up, I am assured, 85 feet before
throwing a branch. If you journey thither, mind that you go
straight to the trunk and stand close up to the very stem. Then
look at all the glory of the olive-grey, smooth, clean shaft.

Limes are known by their employment by all carvers, and
notably by that prince of carvers, Grinling Gribbons, in the pro-
duction of his choice works. It is said that the wood is not only
smooth-grained and beautiful in its enduring colour of pale yellow
or almost straw or creamy wliite, but that it is also insect proof.
I would inform any who may have had a lime blown down in
the recent gale, or who, as myself, have been compelled to cut
down a lime, that it should not be sold cheap. It is worth about
3s. per cubic foot, as it lies, and is employed to make the keys of
pianos, for which its little tendency to warp makes it valuable. f

Of the ash I will only say that Gilpin, having pronounced the oak to
be the Hercules of woods, calls the ash the Venus. I myself always
reserve the title of Lady of the Woods for the birch. Gardeners,
it seems, in some places, time the planting out of their bedding
stuff by the appearance of the ash leaf, and remove this tender
material when the leaves fall. It is peculiarly tough wood, and
the stoutest oar, tool shaft, or lance handle is always made of ash.:{:
But it is considered a dull tree, coming out late and going off soon,
and without any bright colour on its rather thin foliage.

* There are three styles of the beech. Yoiir Ashridge instance, a rod of steel.
Then, the apple-tree topped Surrey style, with its trunk painted in three colours
— white, grey, and dark green. These great patches show no doubt the unkind-
liness of the stunted plant, but dear are they to the landscape painter. Then,
lastly, there is our noble Dean Forest style of giants with as much height as
yoiu- Ashridge specimens, but with massive boles and perfect heads. Such trees
amply justify Spenser's epithet — the "warlike beech." — Correspondent.

t Of course only such parts of the wood as are perfectly free from knots are
available for this delicate purpose. I am informed on good authority that the
cost when ready for keys is about one shilling " per foot in the inch."

X " The ash for nothing ill." — Spenser.

b EEV. DE. GEE FAMOTTS TEEES IN HEETFOEDSHIEE.

Chestnut, whether horse or Spanish, should always be spelt with
a "t" in the middle, in honour of its derivation from chataigne
(French) and castanca (Latin), both of which words come from the
city of Castana in Pontus, whence chestnuts first came into Europe ;
as cherries came from a neighbouring town, Cerasus, now Korasaun.
I particularly admire, in large Spanish chestnut trees, as at Ashridge,
the twist, as of a rifle barrel, which the bark takes, giving the
effect of a spiral column, and making the tree look larger than it
really is. I was surprised to find one tree that I measured to be
only fourteen feet in circumference. And there is at Abbot's
Langlcy a singular instance of the horse chestnut taking fresh
root with its branches and springing out again, as does the banyan,
thicker than where it touches the ground. The road having been,
raised formerly under the large chestnut on the lawn of Langley
House, this process may clearly be traced where the earth has been
lifted up until the branches touched the soil. They have taken
root and sprung up in renewed vigour. The interest of this tree is
60 great that it throws literally into the shade the cedars on the
lawn, one of which is 16i feet round.

I might leave out the larch as being a member of the excluded
Fir tribe. I would like to say a few words of this tree as being a
tender nursing mother or nursing father to the oak. In the only
forest of which I know anything — the Forest of Dean — they prepare
for planting, or I think I should say, sowing oaks, by planting
larches. These spring up soon and form a screen and shelter for the
more valuable seedlings. By the time that the oak can stand alone
the larch is valuable as a pole, and is then removed to the planter's
immediate profit. So is fulfilled the saying that "Larch will buy
you a horse when oak will not buy you a saddle." Still, as Sir
Walter Scott says, " Plant trees, good trees," for, as he piits into the
mouth of one of his characters, I think Dumbiedikes, " They'll aye
be creeping while ye are sleeping."

Now I am at liberty to notice individual trees in Hertfordshire,
famous for their own grandeur, or for their story. Even in the
first di-vision of natural grandeur, I desire to make a subdivision.
There are trees famous for their girth, implying age and generally
involving decay. Some of our most venerable friends are mere
shells. There are others which stand erect in stalwart strength
and are solid and massive trees. Comparisons are odious ; but I
think we ought to do justice to the really vigorous and more natural
trees, for the greater girth will always be found in those which have
been polled or pollarded. I do not want you to look at a tree as
do some of my simpler neighbours, in whose minds at once rises the
consideration of what it would fetch when down. "I'd be bound
to say, sir, that there are four loads of timber in that tree. Why,
I recollect when a water wheel at such a mill wanted a new axle-
pin master got £50 for such a hoak." No ! I would deprecate so
commercial a view of the glories of our county. I would rather
ask you to look at a grand oak as Smeaton, the engineer of the
existing Eddystone Lighthouse, studied an oak when the third

EEV. DK. GEE FAMOUS TEEES IN HEETFOEDSHIRE. 7

eflifice had to be placed on tliat storm-beaten rock. Then it is said
it struck him that if he could imitate the proportions of a tree
which weathers every blast, he might hope that his woi'k would
staud. He figured to himself a model tree with a real waist, which
would encourage the waves to curl over and discharge themselves
innocuously. On those lines he built, and the continuance of his
erection to this day shows that his labour was not in vain. Well,
we will distinguish the old knotted and gnarled patriarchs from
these their worthy congeners as best we may. But, applying our-
selves to take only the girth of a tree, we are in some indistinctness,
how to measure, or how to compare measurements. At what height
shall we take the girth ? Shall we be bound to take it at a certain
arbitrary height, though not the most favourable to the particular
tree ? I think not. I understand that we are to get the greatest
girth that can fairly be measured, after clearing the root knobs or
earth knots. This, for our own comparison, should be taken as

Fig. 1.— The Lion Oak in Hatfield Park.

nearly as possible at the same height in all trees. I approve of
Lord Verulam's rule of thumb. He always measures a tree at the
height of his own waistcoat pocket, he standing on the best side of
the tree for a ground level. Do what you will, trees will not
oblige you by coming into a competition upon terms of exact
equality. I have found two trees of which the girth of one was
the greater, but it was a hollow sinuous girth, while the less tree
met the tape evenly and closely on all its sides, and on that account
seemed really the finer tree. Then, what shall we lay down as our
unit of fame ? What size shall make a tree famous ? I distrust
some of the extreme measurements that are given," I have sceptical
doubts as to that tree in Hatfield Park, which, according to the
' Quarterly Review,' measures 48 feet in circumference. If it be
the oak called the Lion Oak (Fig. 1), that tree I have measured
myself and find the circumference to be 31 feet. I have never been
able to measure more than one other tree all the way round that

8 REV. DE, GEE — FAMOUS TREES IN HERTFORDSniRE.

measured more than 30 feet in circumference. That was the yew in
Crowhurst Churchyard in Sun-ey. It has a door in the side, and
several persons go in, and squeezing tight, declare that they are
able to sit round it inside. I would suggest that we take 20 feet
circumference as our starting-point, and that we make it our busi-
ness to be on bowing terms with all trees in West Herts of that
girth. You need not be afraid of an inconveniently large acquaint-
ance, while you will not be overwhelmed with everybody else's
favourite tree.

The largest tree that I know, and seemingly the oldest, in
Hertfordshire, is the Spanish chestnut tree at Little Wymondley,
near Baldock. It is now the wreck of a wreck. There is not half of
its circumference standing, though a print at High Elms, of the year
1790, shows the tree as much more nearly perfect. An original
girth of 42 feet is claimed for this chestnut, and possibly may have
been attained ; but if so, the tree must have projected on the fallen
side, and would not be in anything like a circle with what is left.
It is still a grand old tree, and one is ready to believe that it was
standing at the time of the Conquest. There is no mention of it
however, in the Domesday Book of the parish. Wymondley, being
then king's land, stands in that book first of all in Hertfordshire.
'No ! nothing of this tree, though the account relates of the other
Wymondley that there is wood in this parish that would make
fences, and pasturage for so many sheep. Here I may notice the
value of our own researches, in that the size of particular trees
seems singularly ignored in all county histories. I have found no
Domesday notice, as I have said once, of particular trees. Looking
through the indices of Clutterbuck and of Chauncy, I have foimd
but one solitary tree specified in each. That in Chauncy is a
walnut tree at Codicote, now gone. It is stated by deposition
before a Justice of the Peace, that this tree covered 74 poles of
ground and took a lad of fifteen years, eight of his fathoms, to reach
round the trunk. My schoolmaster tells me that this area of 74
poles, supposing it to be a circle, represents an outstretch or radius
of 80 feet from the centre of the stem.

Next to the trees already mentioned, the largest girth that I
know is of a pollard oak in Moor Park, that measures 25 feet, and
another near it measures 23 feet. There is also in this park a
prostrate lime mentioned in the Rev. C. A. Johns' book as among
the largest in England. It must have been a fine tree, though, like
the Codicote tree, its size lay in the space it covered, rather than in
its height or girth. Close behind it, and in the avenue or row
skirting the park, is another lime in full vigour, girthing 23 feet.
This is a beautiful tree. There are two beech trees in Cassiobury,
near the Swiss Cottage, both of which reach my standard of fame.
Lord Verulam writes me word that the Kennel Oak, at Gorhambury,
measures 23 feet. The Queen Oak measures 20 feet, and he has
a lime which measures 22 feet. He gives also as just below my
standard (being 19 feet IO7V inches) the Kiss Oak, the origin of
which title, his lordship thinks, is that the oak was cased or fenced.

EET. DR. GEE — FAMOUS TREES IN HERTFORDSHrRE. U

33y-the-bye, you perhaps may care to know that the many Gospel
Oaks in the country had their names from the fact that, in per-
ambuhiting the parishes, the Gospel for Rogation Day was formerly
read when the beaters of the bounds reached that particular oak.

I shall speak of the tall oaks presently. I believe that in what
I have said of the girth of oaks, I have said enough to begin a list
to which my hearers may add for themselves, and I hope that they
will give me the benefit of their possessed or acquired knowledge.
I know how many trees in our own neighbourhood I have omitted,
and how little justice I have done to Cassiobury, at our very door.
Now, with regard to height, you may say, "It is all very well
to measure gii'th, but how are you going to measure height?
Who is to tell us whether a tree is 130 or 140 feet high?" I
can give you two rules of thumb, which will, at least, assist cal-
culation. This is one. Supposing your tall friend to stand out
well in the open ; set by the side of him a stick of ascertained
height, say of 6 feet. "VVatch at the proper hour the length of
shadow cast, both by your six-feet rod and by the tree. Then cal-
culate in proportion the height of the shadows cast; e.g., If the
tree's shadow be 12 times the length, take its height as 72 feet.
Or, take three laths, join two of them at a right angle, and let each
lath containing the angle be of the same size. Then unite the
equal sides with a third, subtending the angle. iNow hold this
level and opposite the tree. Walk away until your eye looks up the
third and long side to the summit of the tree. You may now con-
sider yourself to be standing at the apex of an enlarged triangle, of
Avhich the ground line is one side ancl the erect tree another. You
measiu'e the ground line,* and in so doing you measure the height,
for it equals the perpendicular which you thus get. Q.E.D. I
know very little about these things, and am indebted to my naval
brother-in-law for the scheme, which, I am told, is used by sappers
and others in military engineering. We tried our laths upon oux
house, church, and other ascertained heights, and found them
correct. We then tried our triangle upon the tallest tree that I
know about here — the spruce in the Cassiobury Woodwalks, and
found the height to be some 135 feet. Timber trees are not very
high, if Brown, in ' The Forester,' be correct in giving the following
as the mean average height of the trees : —

Oak 4o feet. Poplar 48 feet.

Ash 38 „ Fir 57 „

Beech 45 „ Chestnut 44 „

Bh-ch 47 „ Sycamore 37 ,,

Elm 44 „ Yew 16 „

Lime 44 „

I have reserved as an example of a tall tree the Panshanger
Oak, which is now, I regret to say, "in a very poor way," and
not long for its present lofty position. The ground appears to be

* Of course I am aware that this is not strictly speaking the ground line, hut
a line say fiye feet above the ground. The ground line reaches at least a good
step farther back.

10 EEV. DE. GEE — FAMOUS TEEES IN HEETFOEDSHIEE.

iiuclcrminod beneath it. The whole height, as given me by a
timber dealer's measurement, is 73 feet; but I distrust his
measuring to the very top of what he would call waste. Indeed,
another measurement gives twice this, 140 feet, as the extreme
height, but that again has not my confidence. The branches, he
states, stretch southwards 60 feet, and northwards 35 feet, making
a shelter of some 100 feet in diameter. All accounts agree that it
increased rapidly in the later years of its growth. According to
Clutterbuck, between 1719 and 1805 it added 480 cubic feet of
timber to its contents. A certain Mr. Barker, timber measurer, of
Bishop's Stortford, says that this growth had not ceased in 1795 ;
further that in 15 years from 1780 it had increased only 1| inches
in circumference. The value of the tree, as containing 17 loads of
timber at £15 per load, with top and bark, the valuer, Mr. Ellis,
in 1811, places at £255.

There is another, and a nearer tree, an oak of this same character,
which I wish to commend to you. It is the Grimston Oak at
0xhey. This tree, insufficiently known, stands a few yards from
Oxhey Chapel, at the fence of Mr. Black well's farmhouse. It is
17 feet in circumference, and 24 feet in "length," which means, I
suppose, the length of its branches. I should have taken it to be
about that number of feet to the branches. It is a very well
grown tree, very dear to the Gorhambury family, who, I am in-
formed, have commended it to the care of the new propiietor of
the estate. It was planted by James, second Viscount Grimston,
who died in 1773, and who had married the daughter of John
Askell Bucknall, Esq., the heiress of Oxhey. The tradition of the
family. Lord Verulam tells me, is that his great-grandfather
planted this tree with his own hands. Supposing him to have
planted the tree some 20 years before his death — his eldest son was
26 years old at his death — you get a fair idea what a well- grown
oak would become in 120 years' time.

I would like to mention an ash in my parish, not because of its
extreme size, but because I do not happen to know a finer, and
because it is a very well grown tree. It stands at the Hyde-lane
Farm, in Abbot's Langley parish, and is 12 feet round. It has
a fine, clear, straight stem, appreciated only by standing directly
underneath the tree. It once, I am told, had a narrow escape
from the usual fate of trees, — becoming the axis of a water-wheel.
It then, many years ago, said the old top-sawyer, my informant,
contained three loads of timber.

I have now to speak of those trees which, without reference to
height or girth, are famous from historical associations. Foremost
among these stands out Queen Elizabeth's Oak at Hatfield. HaK-
way down the avenue leading from the house towards Hertford,
and surrounded by a fence, and in not vigorous health, or of very
remarkable bulk, stands this tree, which I myself years ago visited
with reverence, and brought away a leaf (I would not have broken
off a branch for the world), to be preserved among such mementoes
of our history. I very nearly took off my hat to it. On the

EEV. DR. GEE — FAMOrS TREES IN HERTFORDSHIRE.

11

morning or afternoon of November 17th, 1558, for poor Mary-
died between 4 and 5 a.m., Elizabeth -was sitting under this tree
when a deputation arrived from the Council to apprise her of her
sister's demise and to offer her their homage. She fell on her
knees, and exclaimed in Latin, "A Domino factum est istud et est
mirabile in ocuUs nostris." "It is the Lord's doing, and it is
marvellous in our eyes." (Ps. cxviii.) And this motto she took as
the stamp upon all her gold plate. '^ It must not be supposed,
however, that this formal intimation was a surprise to Elizabeth.
My informant (Miss Strickland) says that Queen Mary had already
sent her the Crown jewels and her dying request in behalf of her
servants, and that Throckmorton, her confidential agent, had
prematurely informed her of her sister's death even before the
event took place. Elizabeth, fearing some snare, had answered
his news with a requirement that, if true, the black enamelled
ring should be sent her which Mary was known to wear night and
day. Afterwards — 44 years later — when pressed to name her
successor, she declared that she would not send him such visitors as
came to see her at Hatfield, numbers having for some days been
passing and repassing on that "Great jS'orthem Road." Most
likely the burst of pious thankfulness was genuine, and was the
expression of relief at the termination of a season of suspense,
the tension of which " 'Twixt Axe and Crown" had become un-
bearable.

Fig. 2.— Oak in Hatfield Park, measuring 33 feet in circumference.

We shall return presently to Hatfield, but let me say here that
there is a wonderful group of hoary ancients near the keeper's
lodge, not far from the trees of the Queens. They are hollow and
decaying but of considerable size. From this group the oak repre-
sented in Pig. 2 has been selected for illustration. I could not
hear of any in the park larger than these.

* This motto had previously been on Mary's coins.

12

EEV. DR. GEE FAJrOITS TREES IN HERTEORDSHIRE.

Noting the late season of the year, Nov. 17th, at -which this
hardy Queen had seemingly sat out of doors, I hope that it will
not be impertinent of me to correct here a mistake of which I have
certainly heard a young lady guilty with regard to another famous
oak tree. " Ah ! " said an accomplished fair one to me on a chilly
May morning, when the spring was very backward, "King Charles
could hardly have been hidden in the oak on the 29th of this May."

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No, my dear miss, nor was he so hidden on the 29th of any May.
The Battle of Worcester, as the Battle of Dunbar — Cromwell's two
crowning mercies — was fought on Sept. 3rd, his dying day, and said
to be also his birthday until Mr. Carlyle and others produced the
entry showing that he was born and christened in St. John's parish,
Huntingdon, in April, 1599. The entry into London took place
on Charles's own birthday, May 29th, and then, in memory of the

KEV. DK. GEE — FAMOUS TEEES Ilf HEETFOEDSHIEE. 13

Boscohcl transaction, the oak leaves were worn.* Of this Boscobel
tree, let me say (before I leave the subject) a descendant is said to
exist in Gadebridge Park, Sir A. Cooper's ; but my inquiries after
the triith of the tradition have been unsuccessful. But Hatfield
Park has later trees of Royal fame. On the occasion of a visit
paid by Her present Majesty and the Prince Consort to the late
Marquis of Salisbury, they were pleased to plant trees in the
immediate neighbourhood of Queen Elizabeth's Oak, and a triad
of royally famous trees may thus be seen at once in this specially
favoured spot (Fig. 3).

I have not quite done with Queen Elizabeth and her connexion
with Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire trees. There is another
domain in Hertfordshire or its borders, only less closely connected
with this royal lady than is Hatfield. Look into the index to Miss
Strickland's 'Biographies,' and you will find some half-dozen refer-
ences to Ashridge. I have heard that the house at Ashridge stands
partly in one county and partly in another. The parish church,
Little Gaddesden, where the Bridgewater family lie buried, is in
Hcrtfordshii-e. Of the ashes which gave name to that ridge only
one remains, as far as I could observe on my visit the other day.
Under this tree, or one of its fellows, we may think the Princess
Elizabeth also sat, and so very likely used to sit the " bons hommes "
of Ashridge — the hermit priests who formerly owned that beautiful
spot, and who lie in the church which the house itself includes.

It will be next in chronological order to notice the Oak Wood in
Gorhambury. This is a wood at the back of the house, specially so
called. When Lord Chancellor Bacon was in financial difiiculties,
it was suggested to him that he should cut down this particular
wood. "What! man," said he, "would you have me pluck out
my own feathers?" And so the trees escaped, and some, I believe,
are now standing. The circumstance is told in most Lives of Lord
Bacon as if it applied to oaks generally, and they are spelt with a
little "o." Lord Verulam informs me that the tale hangs round
the particular Oak Wood, as distinct from others. Brook Wood,
etc. And Barnard, in his ' Drawings from Nature,' states, I do not
know on what authority, that the first Oriental planes introduced
into England were planted at Gorhambury by the great Loi-d Bacon.

I now come to Moor Park to notice two traditions with regard to
trees there. Moor Park was once owned by Cardinal Wolsey,
perhaps in virtue of his connexion with St. Albans as Ahhot in com-
mendam. There is a tree which, Lord Ebury tells me, still goes by
the name of the Cardinal's Oak. He described to me its exact
situation. Lord Ebury thinks that it had its name rather from the
fact of the Cardinal having sat under it than having planted it.
It is too old, according to Dryden's lines, to have had its beginnings
only some 350 years ago. The other Moor Park tradition is as to
the beheading of certain trees there. The estate undoubtedly be-

* Is there any authority for supposing that the Oak had previously been the
badge of the chm Stuart? After 1745 many a soldier was punished for putting
an oak leaf in his cap on May 29.

14 KEV. DR. GEE — FAMOUS TREES IN HERTFORDSHIRE.

longed to the Duchess of Buccleugh, who is introduced into Scott's
' Lay of the Last MinstreL' This was Anne, Duchess of liuccleugh
and Monmouth, representative of the ancient Lords of Buccleugh,
and widow of James, Duke of Monmouth, who was beheaded in
1685. Of her Sir Walter says : —

" She had known adversity,
Though born in such a high degree,
In pride of power, in beauty's bloom.
Had wept o'er Monmouth's bloody tomb."

Lay, Canto 1, Introduction.

And, says the tradition, on her husband's execution she beheaded
sundry of the forest oaks in the Park. This may have been done
from morbid sentimentality; or from a wish to save them, as some
suppose, from confiscation ; or rather, perhaps, fi-om a somewhat
spiteful wish to prevent their ever being used as timber in that navy
of which her husband's cruel uncle, James the Second, was so proud.
Wliatever the motive (which could scarcely be excusable, much less
praiseworthy), the tradition holds good as to the fact. And I
understood Lord Ebury to say that it was with reference to this
special legend, that Froude, the historian, encouraged him to believe
that wherever tradition is clear and strongly-rooted, and consistent
with common-sense, there is truth in the main fact asserted. I
think, therefore, we may continue to believe that these Moor Park
pollards had the historical origin attributed to them.

There is another kind of tradition which has made some trees
famous, or at least notorious. It respects those trees which grow
out of tombstones or from the crevices of vaults. Certainly some
trees do seem to choose such spots. I imagine that a seed having
found its way there and expanded in peace, was at first encouraged
from the sentiment that it was pretty, and afterwards that it afforded
a pleasant canopy to the tomb. Not until too late was it found tliat
the intruder was master of the situation. With relentless force it
crushed the monument into which it had intruded, and altogether
took possession of the memorial.

Just such an intruding sycamore stands in Aldenham Churchyard,
and has made small account of stone slabs and of iron railings. But
a case, better known, is in Tewin Churchyard, in the tomb of Lady
Anne Grimston, through which have grown several stems of more
than one kind of tree. Our forefathers, who scarcely seem to have
been wiser than ourselves, fitted on a startling legend to these trees.
It is that Lady Anne was in lifetime an unbeliever, and that she
arranged with some survivors (as sceptical as herself) that if there
were another world a tree should grow out of her vault to announce
the fact. Lord Verulam has given me leave to discuss the tale with
you. He feels strong in the evidence there is of the fair profession
of this poor slandered lady, and has given me extracts from her
house-books. She certainly conformed to the reqiiirements of
religion and lived in all such ordinances blameless. Clearly she
went to her parish church, and in her carefully kept account books
we find that she put up her horses, as do her successors at Gorham-

-REV. DR. GEE FAMOUS TEEES IN HERTFORDSHIRE. 15

bury ; only, 200 years ago, she seems to have done it somewhat
more cheaply, e.ff.

March, 1682. — For setting up on Sunday (twise) 8d.

For setting up the Horses at Church (Fryday) Gd.

April 15. — Setting up the Horses when Dr. Bell preached 4:d.

Setting up the Horses when my lady stayed (for H. C. ?) at

Whitehall 1«. Od.

July, 1683. — Setting up the Coach Horses and Black Nags, morning

and afternoon, at Michls., on Sunday Is. 8d.

And so on. It is rather hard, after a life of such regular profession
as this, to he accounted an unbeliever 200 years subsequently to
one's own time, upon account of the capricious growth of a tree.
It is not every one whose friends could produce so much post-mortem
evidence of having lived, at least, as well as other people.

I would say of trees historically, as well as naturally, famous,
that I shall be very grateful if enabled to enlarge my catalogue by
the kind information of my hearers. I leave all indi\T.duals now,
and would wish to be permitted to wind up my paper with two
remarks upon trees generally. I would try to enlist on your parts
a feeling of Conservative preference for the older kinds of trees. I
think that our old English trees have got such a character of their
own, and give such a character to the landscape, that there is a loss
when their monopoly of the fields is largely invaded. I grudge to
see some of the foreigners prominently introduced into what I
venture to call "our parks." I know a park a few miles hence
where the Armiearia imbricata is pushing its hard, cast-iron, puzzle-
monkey branches into the air. The Bcodara and Wellingtonia (or,
as it is now called, Seqtioia) are following up the invasion ; and I can
imagine how these colonial gentry will look down upon oaks and elms
in the days of our grandchildren. I am aware that this objection is
narrow, and a like narrow-mindedness, 200 years ago, would have
kept out cedars. Happily, a passing expression of complaint has
little effect either way. I would only press my stricture so far as
to urge that large planters should not introduce these strangers in too
large a proportion, and so alter the character of the English forest
scenery. On a very small scale I try to keep this in mind in
planting our churchyard, though I must confess to two Sequoias
which are already becoming too large for us. I like to think of
God's Acre in England as being English, and not New Zealand or
Califomian, ground.

The one remaining reflection which I would ask to be permitted
to make is as to the moral impression, or even religious effect upon
us, produced by considering the longevity and slow growth and
firm hold of the earth taken by these sons of the soil. It must
strike us that there is here a singular contrast to the tree-planter's
own limited continuance on this same scene. A man plants an oak.
He never hopes to sit under it. When his threescore and ten
years shall be run out, the tree will be not haK-way towards
maturity. The most he can hope for is, as in the case of the
Oxhey Oak, that his great-grandson, though not the possessor of

16 EEV. DR. GEE — FAMOFS TEEES IN HEETFOEDSITIRE.

the tree, may keep up the rememhrance of this good work. I
myself have a weak hope that some Vicar of Abbot's Langley
(next but three, say, after me) may speak of my lime avenue in
our churchyard as they speak at Welwyn of the limes planted by
the writer of the ' Mght Thoughts,' and say of mine, "These
were planted in old Mr. Gee's time;" but the trees themselves
everywhere, to be noteworthy, are so old that we must rather say
that in our time and turn, " We belong to them, than that they
belong to us." How many generations of old and young have told
their tale of joy and sorrow under a Kiss Oak of 20 feet circum-
ference. How must the old tree smile to see a new generation
coming to it with the old, old story. I am myself inclined to
think of such a tree as the old monk thought of Leonardo's great
fresco in the refectory, opposite to which so many generations
came, and ate and di-ank, and went away, and came no more.
"Surely," said he, "the figures on the wall are the realities, we
in the hall are the shadows." But no, surely this suggests a
notion, or encourages and strengthens a belief, that the duration of
man takes place somewhere else. If 1000 years be the continuance
in the Maker's eyes of vegetable life, then the highest form of the
higher, or the animal life, cannot be on an average less than one-
twentieth of that term. There must be, as the Psalm says, " a
planting in the House of the Lord of those who shall flourish for
ever in the Court of our God."

I check myself in an honest tendency to improve the occasion in
the direction of my own special vocation. I will end with a verse
from him, from whom you would scarcely expect a veiy earnest
aspiration of immortality, and yet it says all I want to say. It
is said that Lord Byron wrote the following epitaph for a tomb
in Harrow Churchyard. The allusion will explain itself.

" Under these green trees pointing to the skies,
The planter of them, Isaac Greentree, lies.
The time will come when these green trees shall fall,
And Isaac Greentree rise above them all."

17

2. — The Bieds of Oue District,
Ey John E. Littleboy.
[Read 8th November, 1877.]

It is certainly one of the advantages of our Society that it in-
cludes within its scope so large a variety of subjects, many of them
perfectly distinct in themselves and yet all more or less connected
by a common tie. At our last meeting we heard a most interesting
paper on "Famous Trees in Hertfordshire"; this evening I am
about to lay before you a few particulars respecting birds that have
been observed more especially in the neighbourhood of Hunton
Bridge and King's Langley, but it is my intention cursorily to allude
to other districts within our couuty. For much of the information
respecting birds in the King's Langley and Chippcrfield districts
I am indebted to Mr. Thomas Toovey ; and I have also to acknow-
ledge the assistance of several other gentlemen who have been good
enough to send me interesting particulars. And here I wish to say
that I do not pretend to approach this subject from its scientific side.
I confess to being a warm admirer of birds ; for years past I have
endeavoured to observe their habits, and it is in the capacity of an
observer, and in that alone, that I venture to address you.

I have prepared a classified list, which I shall append to this
paper, of all the birds which I can record, with any degree of
certainty, as having been observed in the neighbourhood referred
to. They number ninety-two, I have also added the names of a few
others reported to have been shot by the gamekeeper at Munden,
and which are still preserved in the vestibule of Munden House,
With this list before me as a guide, I will now briefly allude to a
few particulars that I have been able to collect respecting some of
the birds mentioned, and I will commence with the Hawk tribe.

It is a curious instance of retributive destiny that hawks, or
falcons as they were formerly called, are now ruthlessly destroyed
on account of the exercise of those very faculties and instincts
which in days gone by constituted them, beyond all others, the
most coveted and fashionable of birds. Of hawks we have only two
varieties, the kestrel and the sparrow-hawk ; the former is the most
abundant, and I may mention that a brood of young kestrels was
hatched during last season in Mr. Blackwell's rookery at Chipper-
field. Kestrels are almost invariably shot by gamekeepers, as be-
longing to a dangerous family. The old proverb "noscitur a sociis'^
is not always to be depended on, and in this instance I believe the
practice to be a mistake. It is true that kestrels will occasionally
victimise a wounded partridge, but their food consists for the most
part of field-mice, grasshoppers, beetles, and earth-worms, and I
believe that they but rarely attack any bird larger than a lark.

The sparrow-hawk is a far more courageous and daring fellow
than the kestrel. He appears to be naturally pugnacious, and will
attack birds much larger than himself. His favourite food is said

VOL. II. PT. I. 2

18 J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE BIRDS OF OITE DISTEICT.

to be leverets, young rabbits, partridges, thrushes, larks, etc., but he
does not despise, by way of variety, a few young chickens, and I
have seen him hovering, in a very suspicious manner, over our own
poultry. I am informed by a friend that he noticed a large wood-
pigeon in the clutches of a sparrow-hawk, and that, although the
pigeon was still warm, its head and a portion of its neck had been
eaten ofp.

Of owls we have only two or three varieties. The common bam
owl is to be found in almost all districts. Wherever an old barn or
an accessible roof can be made available for shelter, he is pretty
certain to become a constant visitor. One of our servants was
desperately frightened, one moonlight evening, by suddenly dis-
covering a barn owl, which she persisted in calliag a "death-bird,"
demurely sitting on the wall that divides our garden. Barn owls
formerly frequented a hole in one of the trees at the Little Elms,
"Watford. The tree, as many will remember, was broken off by the
wind. Two dead birds were found in the stump that remains, and it
is believed that the rest gf the family perished with their adopted
home. Concerning the brown or tawny owl I have only one memo-
randum ; I find that thirteen of these birds were driven at one time
from Mr. Blackwell's pigeon-house at Chipperfield. An owl con-
siderably smaller than either of the species I have mentioned has
been frequently observed in the chestnut trees at Gaddesden Hoo.
It has a weird unearthly screech, but up to the present time it has
not been possible to identify it. I have also to record that a speci-
men of the short-eared owl {Asio accipitrmics), a species that is only
an occasional autumnal visitor in the southern counties, was recently
shot at South End, near Redbourn. My hearers will remember
that the owl has played a rather prominent part in mythological
story. It was the favourite bird of Minerva, and many of the
silver coins struck at Athens have the representation of an owl on
the reverse side, as an emblem of Pallas Athena, the tutelar goddess
of that city.

Among Carnivorous birds the red-backed shrike, or butcher-bird,
must not be omitted. During the past summer I have seen an
unusual number of these birds ; indeed, I have rarely driven any
distance from home without meeting with one or more of them. The
male bird is especially handsome and can hardly fail to be observed.
Like so many among the interesting group in natural history that
we have under consideration, the red-backed shrike possesses a
peculiar adaptability to the exigencies of its nature. Its strong bill
is abruptly hooked at the end, and the notch is so deep as to form
a small tooth more or less prominent on each side. By this con-
formation the bird is enabled to take a firm grasp of its food and to
tear it in pieces. The claws also arc remarkably strong and sharp.
Many curious facts are recorded respecting the ways and doings of
the red-backed shrike. Its food consists principally of mice, small
birds, frogs, lizards, grasshoppers, beetles, and cockchafers. It is
stated that after catching and killing its victim, it will impale it on
a thorn and thus leave it, as a tit-bit, to be consumed at leisui'e, or

J. E. LITTLEBOY THE BIIIDS OF OITE DISTEICT. 19

as the caprice of appetite may suggest. I have frequently heard it
affirmed that the well-known line of Dr. Watts,
" Birds in their little nests agree,"
must be regarded as a poetical fiction with scarcely the shadow of
a foundation. This can hardly be said respecting the red-backed
shrike ; the attachment of the parent pair to each other and to their
young is singularly striking. It is stated by Morris,* that " a male
red-backed shrike ha\'ing been caught in a garden by a cat, the
gardener, who saw the occurrence, succeeded in rescuing it from
the animal in time to save its life. It was put into a cage and
placed in a sitting-room close by, in which were several persons,
but notwithstanding this, the female, its companion, came in at the
window, settled on the cage, and was secured by one of the party
without attempting to fly away." It is a summer bird, and leaves
us early in the autumn.

Next upon my list is the spotted flycatcher. This charming little
summer visitor is an universal favourite ; it abounds in all our gardens
and may be seen along the edge of every copse and almost every
hedge-row. It is easily distinguished, even at a considerable dis-
tance, by its short and jerky flight. It is fond of sitting on a railing
or iron fence, and from its selected perch it darts rapidly ofi" in search
of its insect prey, quivers for a few seconds in the air, and then
returns to the exact spot formerly occupied. It is a sociable and
confiding little bird, and appears to covet the guardianship of man.
I am informed that a pair of flycatchers built their nest in an acacia
tree in the boys' playground at the Berkhampstead Grammar School.
Is it possible to conceive a greater act of confidence than this ? I
am sorry to say that it was misplaced ; although the nest remained
undiscovered until four eggs had been deposited, the temptation was
too strong to be resisted, and the eggs quickly disappeared.

On two occasions we have been favoured with a visit from the
dipper. This bird, abundant in Wales and Scotland, is extremely
scarce throughout the Midland Counties. In form it strikingly
resembles the wren, but in size it is about on an equality with the
missel thrush. It is readily recognised by its creamy white breast,
and when once seen cannot be mistaken. It is very distinct,
and differs in its habits from all its fellows. It is as much a water-
fowl as the dabchick, but its feet are not webbed, and it indulges in
a low melodious song — an accomplishment not possessed by any
other water-fowl. It is said by some authorities that the dipper
deliberately walks under the water along the bottom of the stream,
but it is maintained by others that he swims through the water, using
his wings as paddles. Neither of our visitors was sufficiently
polite to favour us with a performance, and we know not which
theory is the true one.

Of the thrushes and the blackbird I need say but little. We have
four varieties of thrushes — the missel thrush, the song thrush, the
redwing, and the fieldfare. The missel and song thrush arc dis-

* History of British Birds, vol. i. p. 236.

20 J. E. LITTLEBOY THE BIEDS OF OUR DISTRICT.

ti'ibutcd throughout our district in great abundance. Every one
must luive listened to the melodious notes of these gifted birds.
They love to frequent a garden, and will generally select the top-
most branch of a shrub or tree from which to pour forth their
plaintive melody. They sing much later in the evening than most
of the other birds. "Long after the varied music of the rest has
ceased, the song of the thrush yet remains ;" and many a time have
we listened to it, in our garden at Hunton Bridge, until the shades
of evening have darkened into night, and we have felt almost spell-
bound to the spot. The eggs of the thrush are often to be found as
early as the middle of March. They are prolific birds, often rearing
two, and sometimes three broods during the season. The young
fledgelings are voraciously fond of fruit, and woe to the unfortu-
nate strawberry-bed that happens to lie within their reach. At
Hunton Bridge we are compelled to net all our strawberries or
scarcely one would ripen ; and even when this is done, the young
throstles will frequently push their way under the netting, and in.
this manner we have often caught many of them. The thrush is a
determined enemy of every description of snail ; he will rap them
against a stone with his beak until the shell is broken, and the snail
is then instantly demolished. Quantities of broken snail shells may
often be noticed on a gravel walk as the result of these operations.
The redwing and the fieldfare are both migratory. They reach us
from their northern homes about the end of October or the middle
of November. The redwing is the smallest of its class ; in appear-
ance it much resembles the song thrush, but can be distingviished
from it by the red tinge on a portion of its wings. The fieldfare
may be regarded as the special representative of winter. "The hoar
visage of winter," to use the metaphor of De Quincy, would hardly
be complete without him ; we look for these birds almost as to a
certainty as we drive along the hard and frosty roads on a cold
December morning, and presently we descry a considerable number
of them, swooping across, right in front of lis, till they alight,
possibly, upon the snow-covered furrows of an adjoining field. The
name of the blackbird is a household word in almost every family ;
his magnificent black plumage, his rapid flight, and his clear, bell-
like note are familiar to all of us. He begins to build early in
February, and, like the young throstles, his progeny are devout
believers in the excellency of strawberries and other early fruit.

The hedge-sparrow and the robin belong to the same family.
The former of these appears to be the victim of a misnomer. It
unquestionably belongs to the Warblers, and possesses but few
characteristics in common with the plebeian sparrow. The hedge-
sparrow is an unobtrusive confiding little bird ; its nest, containing
four or five bright blue eggs, may generally be found by about the
middle of March, and its cheerful, musical song, "soft and gentle
like itself," may be heard from almost every hedge-row, and on
almost every day throughout the year. We have many more
atti'active and brilliant songsters than the hedge-sparrow, but we
have few more constant attendants on our daily walks, and we know

J. E. LITTLEBOT THE BIRDS OF OtTE DISTRICT. 21

of none that we should more decidedly regret to banish from the
precincts of our garden. And no-sv I must confess that I stand con-
fx'ontcd with a difficulty. How shall I adequately describe the
redbreast? — the robin redbreast of our childhood, that we have all
fed with crumbs so many, many times, on a winter's morning, from
the parlour window, and that is so intimately associated with our
very earliest recollections. How strangely do memories of an olden
time,

" The tender grace of a day that is past,"

linger around its name ! But I must try to strip him of adventitious
associations, and to describe him as he really is. I am afraid that,
in some respects, I cannot speak of him quite so highly as I could
wish. He is a selfish, quarrelsome little fellow, somewhat of a
glutton, and supposed to be singularly deficient in parental affection.
But he possesses his better characteristics also ; of no other bird can
it be said that he positively courts the companionship of man.
"Wlierever you may be, whether in the garden or field, whether
amidst the inmost recesses of the forest, or on the wide, open
common, seat yourself but for a few minutes on the stump of a
fallen tree, and there, hopping unconcernedly about, within a yard
of your elbow, you will infallibly observe a robin. Robins appear
to be almost ubiquitous ; their number must be legion, and yet I
will venture to say that no one has ever seen a flock of them to-
gether ; they are generally to be observed either singly or in pairs,
and rarely indeed is more than a single pair visible at the same time.
This peculiarity has been variously accounted for. It is said that
they are so quarrelsome that, like certain near relations, they find
it most satisfactory to live at a considerable distance from each other.
Then, again, I have seen it maintained that the robin wages a war
of extermination against all intruders, that the young birds are
especially severe on their older and weaker relatives, that in this
maimer large numbers are constantly destroyed, and the isolation of
the survivors maintained. I do not pi-etend to solve the mystery ;
I tell the tale as it is told to me, and here I must leave it. The
robin will frequently build in most grotesque and unlikely places ;
he has been known to select the coat sleeve of a garden scarecrow,
and even an old kettle in a blacksmith's shop.

Now a few words about the remainder of the Warblers, and
under this head the following species may be classed : — The red-
start, the chats, the wheatear, the sedge, reed, and garden warblers ;
the chiff'-chafi", the blackcap, the whitethroats, the gold-crest, the
willow- wren, and the nightingale. The redstart, the stonechat, and
the whinchat generally frequent open waste lands and commons.
The nests of these birds have been found on both Berkhampstcad
and Chipperfield Commons, and that of the stonechat on King's
Langley Common. The redstart occasionally selects a more question-
able locality in which to build. I am informed by one of our
members, Mr. Ransom, of Hitchin, that for three years consecutively
a redstart has built and reared its young in the open roof of his

22 J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE BEEDS OF OTTR. DISTEICT.

chemical laboratory, immediately over the evaporating pans, Avhere
the nest would, during the day, be constantly suri'ounded with steam
largely charged with vegetable fumes, among which I expect that
the Atropa Belladonna and Uxjoscyamus yiiger would bear a principal
part. The wheatcar I have never personally been able to identify
within the limits of our district, but it has been noticed by a careful
observer in the low meadows between Hunton Bridge and King's
Langley. The sedge warbler and the chifF-chaff are both migivatory,
the chifF-chafF being one of our earliest spring amvals. And how
welcome are these spring visitors as they crowd in upon us. ^ inter
with its cold winds and biting frosts is past and gone — a new world
opens before us — like the birds and the insects that surround us, we
feel its genial influence, and our hearts can hardly fail to join in the
chorus of universal praise that we listen to on every side.

" The ants, the bees, the swallows reappear,

Fresh leaves and flowers deck the dead season's bier ;

The amorous birds now pair in every brake.

And build their mossy homes in field and brere ;

And the green lizard and the spotted snake,

Like unimprisoned flames, out of their trance awake."

The nest of the chiff-chaff is generally built about a foot from the
ground, and is very similar to the wren's. The reed warbler and
the garden warbler are by no means common, but these bii'ds, to-
gether with the whitethroats, the willow-wren, and the two species
last noticed, are so extremely difficult to distinguish, the one from
the other, that mistakes as to their identity are more than possible.
A nest of the reed warbler attached to three reeds, and only about
eighteen inches above the water, was taken last year at the Tring
Reservoir. The nests are elegantly biiilt of slender blades of grass,
interwoven with reed tops, dry duckweed, and the spongy substance
that abounds in many of the marsh ditches ; they are unusually
deep, and sway to and fro with the wind, occasionally almost
dipping into the water. The garden warbler has been observed at
King's Langley during the past season. Eespecting whitethroats,
I find that I have no memorandum, and I will simply state that the
lesser whitethroat is by far the more uncommon of the two. Kext
in rotation is the blackcap, and here we again have a noticeable
bird. He ranks high upon our list of songsters, is a splendid
mimic, and his note may occasionally be mistaken for that of the
nightingale ; he is extremely careful of his young, and, as far as we
know, he is the only small bird which, like the partridge, will feign
a broken wing or an injured leg, in order the better to decoy an
observer from his nest. The blackcap is excessively fond of rasp-
berries. As soon as the young birds can fly, they attack our
raspberry canes, almost in swarms. It is difficult to frighten
them away, and when endeavouring to do so I have fi^equently
W'atched them desert one clump only to besiege another.

The gold-crest, or as it is more generally styled, the golden-crested
wren, is the smallest of our English birds, and I have seen it stated
that five of them will not exceed in weight one ounce. They are

J. E. LITTLEBOY — THE BIRDS OF OUE DISTRICT. 23

charming little creatures, and few sights are prettier than to watch
them actively at work, fluttering about and searching for their food.
Their nests are beautifully built, of globular shape, with a small
opening at the top. AVe have generally several in the garden at
Hunton Bridge, and on one occasion we were delighted to espy six
or eight tiny little birdies, but just fledged, all huddled together on
the branch of a spruce fir. We watched them with the greatest inter- .
est, and presently discovered that the two parent birds were con-
stantly flying to and fro laden with insect food for their little
nestlings. At King's Langley a pair of gold-crests have this year
built in a tree close to the back door of a gentleman's residence.
The willow-wren or hay-bird is also a constant summer visitor to
our garden. It builds a domed nest, and is a remarkably hard
sitter. I have seen it stated that even the nest itself may be re-
moved without disturbing the bii'd.

I will complete the Warblers by biiefly noticing the nightingale.
Its superlative powers have been described so frequently that I shall
not attempt a repetition. I presume there is hardly a single person
in this room who has not again and again listened with delight to
its glorious notes. The nightingale generally reaches this district
between the 10th and the 21st of April. Its song appears to in-
crease both in volume and power until the middle of May, but as
soon as the young are hatched it either ceases altogether or subsides
into a guttural croak. It is quite a mistake to suppose that the
nightingale is shy ; while in the act of singing he appears to be
perfectly absorbed in his wondrous efforts and quite indifferent to
the approach of listeners. A few years ago a member of my family
succeeded in inducing three of them to come for food whenever
they were called, and before we lost them in the autumn they would
fearlessly approach almost close to her feet.

Next upon my Kst are the Tits. They are a very amusing family,
and possess striking characteristics.- We can claim five among their
number as pretty constant visitors : — The great tit, the coal tit, the
blue tit, the marsh tit, and the long-tailed tit. The first four have
many qualities in common ; they are extremely grotesque in their
movements and will repay careful observation. It has been our
practice at Hunton Bridge to attach a bone or walnut to a string,
and to tie it to a tree observable from the parlour-window ; no
sooner is the treasure discovered by a tit than he will fly to it and
attack it in the most vigorous manner ; occasionally he will slide
down the string after the fashion of a monkey, and knowingly
examine whatever may be attached to it, but more frequently he
will hang with his claws to some portion of the bone and swing
away, topsy-turvy, as comfortably and unconcernedly as though
perched upon a twig. Some years ago a tit built its nest in a hole
in the wall close to our house : we discovered its whereabouts by
healing a hissing sound whenever we passed the spot. With some
hesitation, we attempted to insert a finger, but it was assailed so
lustily that we were compelled to withdraw it. By-and-by we
noticed that the bird had left her nest, and we again returned to the

24 J. E. LITTLEBOY — THE BIEDS OF OTJK DISTEICT.

assault ; hardly had we attempted to touch the nest, than the little
fury actually perched upon our hand, and pecked and hissed
desperately. The tits are hard sitters and will sometimes allow
themselves to be lifted from off their nests rather than leave them.
The long-tailed tits differ considerably from the rest; they generally
visit lis in flocks during the winter months, but a few remain during
a portion of the summer. They are very graceful, and their long
black tails with white outer edge add greatly to the grotesque
beauty of their movements. The parent birds rarely separate them-
selves from their broods until the pairing season of the ensuing
year, and so strong is the family association that two pairs are said
occasionally to occupy the same nest. If this be the case, it will
satisfactorily account for the large number of eggs, amounting to
sixteen or eighteen, sometimes found in a single nest. Last season
a long-tailed tit built in a larch close to our river ; we noticed him
constantly at work beneath the bridge, and at last we discovered
that he was removing all the cobwebs that he could obtain, doubt-
less to supply the requirements of his nest.

The wagtails and pipits I do not propose to notice, but I cannot
omit that bird, which is, of all others, my especial favourite, the sky-
lark. Who amongst us has not listened with wonder and unbounded
pleasure to its ecstatic song ? Who has not watched it soaring on
fluttering wing,

" Higher still and higher,"
in the clear sky,

"Like an unbodied joy, whose race has just begun" ?

And when, at last, it has vanished from our sight or remains but
a tiny speck in the blue vault of heaven, its miisical note has still
lingered on our ear, and whispered to us almost as a message from
above —

" Hail to thee, blithe spirit !
Bird thou never wert,
That from heaven or near it,
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of unjjremeditated art.

We look before and after.

And pine for what is not ;
Our sincerest laughter

"With some pain is fraught ;
Our sweetest songs are those which tell of saddest thought.

Yet, if we could scorn

Hate, and pride, and fear ;
If we were things born
Xot to shed a tear,
I know not how thy joy we ever should come near."

We will now take the large family of birds that has been classed
under the name of Finches. Of buntings we have three varieties.
The common bunting and the black-headed bunting have both been
observed, the former not unfrequently, in the low meadows near
the canal. The yellow-hammer is one of the most frequent of

J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE BIEDS OF OUE DISTRICT. 25

our field birds, but I shall only allude to one of its characteristics.
Just as so many of us grow greyer as we grow older, so does the
yellow-hammer become of a much more brilliant yellow about the
head as he advances in age, and this fact will account for the great
difference in colour observable in diifei'ent birds. The sparrow and
the chaffinch are probably the most numerous of any among our
British birds. Notwithstanding their immense abundance, the
sparrow can rarely be found but in close proximity to the haunts
of man. He appears to desert the hill-side, the common, or the
forest, and to haunt, in flocks almost numberless, the farm home-
stead and the country village. But he does not, by any means,
confine himself to country life ; in every street of every town
throughout the land, and in the dirtiest and most wretched of
any of the slums of London — there, in profuse abundance, is the
sparrow. The nest of the chaffinch is an extremely pretty structure.
When built in a tree, it is generally covered with lichens ; but it is
a little remarkable that whenever a hedge is selected, where lichen
would render it conspicuous, it is carefully avoided. The chaffinch
has surely attained considerable proficiency in the art of conceal-
ment. The brambling occasionally visits our district in small
flocks. During last winter a hawfinch remained for several days
in our garden at Hunton Bridge. The greenfinch is very abundant,
and the beautiful goldfinch, although greatly reduced in numbers,
is still tolerably plentiful. I cannot pass by the name of the
goldfinch without entering my protest against the systematic
manner in which these birds are victimised by the birdcatchers.
I am afraid that the "Small Birds Preservation Act" is, for the
most part, a dead letter. A gentleman informs me that he met a
birdcatcher on Chipperfield Common who had succeeded in captur-
ing six dozen young linnets in one day, and another of the same
fraternity was seen to leave Watford station with twenty-seven
young nightingales. The siskin and redpole are gregarious, and
during the winter they assail our alder trees in large numbers. I
have already alluded to the linnet. It is wonderfully abundant in
the neighbourhood of Chipperfield. One day last February more
than a hundred were observed, singing most vigorously, on a
single tree ; by and by they took a long flight over the Common,
but again returned to the same tree, and again commenced singing.
Last among the finches, the gaudy bullfinch must not be forgotten.
He is a peculiarly handsome bird, but is frightfully destructive
among the early buds of the gooseberry, the currant, and even the
plum. His nest is one of the slightest that we have ever seen,
being frequently composed of but a few dry twigs laid loosely
together. It appears extraordinary that the eggs should be retained
by it, and especially that the restless young should allow them-
selves to be confijied within its limits.

The starling, the Eoyston crow, the jackdaw, the magpie, and
the jay will all be found upon my list, but I am afraid I have been
already tedious, and passing them without further notice, I will
come at once to the kingfisher. I am glad to be able to announce

26 J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE BIRDS OF OUE DISTRICT.

that we have a goodly number of these beautiful birds at Hunton
Bridge, and I can assure you that they are always objects of
interest. They are fond of sitting on the wire fence that borders
the river, and from this elevation they watch assiduously for their
prey. Presently there is a splash ; the king-of-fishers has plunged
bodily under the water, and up he comes with a small dace or
minnow in his beak ; he returns at once to his perch, raps the fish
against the iron wire until it is dead, and then proceeds to swallow
it entire, head foremost. A few weeks since I noticed two king-
fishers, one at either end of a river punt that happened to be
moored exactly opposite to my office window. Of course I watched
them. They appeared to be engaged in earnest conversation, but
after a short time, the bird that I assumed to be the cock sidled
along the whole length of the punt until he reached his mate,
when he immediately proceeded to feed her in the most affectionate
manner. The kingfisher, in common with the owl and some other
birds, possesses the singular power, after digesting the fieshy
portions of its \dctims, of disgorging the small bones in the form
of pellets. We find quantities of these pellets near its favourite
resorts, and I have a few of them with me which I shall be pleased
to exhibit. The rapid flight of these birds is very noticeable; they
flash past you in a moment, their brilliant colour gleaming in the
sunshine, and probably affording some slight idea of the gorgeous
beauty of tropical birds. Two years ago a pair of kingfishers that
frequented the garden were evidently on the look-out for a locality
in which to build. For nearly a fortnight they constantly resorted
to a hole in an old ash stump, close to the water. We thought
that their choice had been made, and carefully avoided disturbing
them. Suddenly they altogether deserted the old ash stump,
and appeared to look with favour on a certain rat's hole, about
fifty yards higher up the stream. This they quickly abandoned,
and eventually selected a bank in quite another poi-tion of the
garden. At Hitchin, kingfishers regularly build in a secluded dell
from which gravel has been taken. The dell is 300 to 400 yards
distant from the stream from which they obtain their food, and about
40 or 50 feet above its level. The ground beneath the holes that
they frequent is strewn with the spines of sticklebacks, and oc-
casionally the head of a miller's-thumb is to be found. Close to
the nests of the kingfishers is a fox's hole, and it is perhaps a little
curious that a carnivorous animal and fish-eating bird should dwell
in such close proximity.

Swallows, martins, and swifts are next upon my list. The
swallow and the sand martin generally arrive about the same time.
Last spring I noticed the first swallow on the 7th of April. The
house martin and the swift are somewhat later in arriving. The
swallow may fairly be taken as the type of migratory birds, and
is there anything more wonderful in the whole range of natural
history than that extraordinary instinct which teaches the swallow
and other birds to wing their way, before the approach of winter,
with unerring certainty, over land and trackless sea, to warmer and

J. E. LITTLEBOY THE BIRDS OF OTJK DISTRICT. 27

sunnier climes, and once again to hasten to their northern homes
when the genial breath of spring invites them to return ?

" There is a power whose care

Teaches their way along that pathless coast,
The desert and illimitahle air,
Lone wandering hut not lost."

It has been well said that "the home of the swallow is the whole
habitable earth. It knows nothing of winter's cold ; its whole
life is a continued festivity, and its song an eternal hymn in
praise of summer and liberty." It is quite tnie that "one swallow
does not make a summer," for isolated birds are occasionally seen
during every month of the year ; but, not the less for this, it
is universally regarded as the auspicious harbinger of spring, and
is welcomed with delight by all. Every one must have noticed the
extremely graceful movements of these birds, but nowhere can
they be seen to greater advantage than when lightly skimming the
surface of the water, rising and falling in their flight, or wheeling
round in graceful curves, as they chase the tiny insects that con-
stitute their food. Much has been written respecting the habits
of the swallow during the winter months. It was formerly
believed that they all remained with us in a state of hibernation,
and Dr. Johnson makes a statement on this subject which is probably
about as correct as many other of the Doctor's famous dicta.
" Swallows," says Dr. Johnson, " certainly do sleep all the winter.
A number of them conglobulate together by flying round and round,
and then, all in a heap, throw themselves under water and lie in the
bed of a river." The truth appears to be that by far the larger
portion of them migrate southwards during the autumn months,
but that a few actually remain and hibernate amongst us. I ex-
tract the following from a letter by the Rev. F. 0. Morris,
published in 'The Times': — "I was told by a person, who
vouches for it as a fact, that not long ago, he, or a friend of his,
watched, one autumn, a brood of young swallows too weakly to
be able to follow their parents in their migration, and so the old
birds left them in their nests and plastered them up with mud.
When spring arrived he was anxiously and daily on the look-out
for the old birds. At length they came, proceeded at once to the
old nest, removed the plaster- work, and aroused the young ones,
who were none the worse for their six months' incarceration."
Then comes an explanatory foot-note — " By swallows, no doubt
the person meant martins." I must now leave the graceful
swallow —

" Flying, flying south," —

and hasten to complete the remainder of my task.

The whirring note of the nightjar is heard not unfrequently at
Hunton Bridge, and one was shot recently at Chipperfield. In the
same neighbourhood the green woodpecker is tolerably plentiful.
A specimen of the lesser spotted woodpecker has been taken at
King's Langley. and one of the great spotted woodpecker at South
End, near Eedbourn. The wryneck, or cuckoo's mate as it is

28 J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE BIRDS OF OUE DISTRICT.

sometimes called, and the tree creeper, are both common. A nest
of the former was found in a cherry tree near King's Langley
during the past summer, and the latter builds almost invariably in
our own alder trees.

Very similar in form and general appearance to the kingfisher,
but inhnitely inferior in brilliancy of colour, is the nuthatch. The
name of this bird affords an appropriate indication of its peciiliar
tastes. It is a dreadful nuisance among the filbert stems, and if
left to itself will soon make havoc with the filberts. Unfortunately
it destroys an infinitely greater number than it can possibly
consume, and the ground under our stems is frequently almost
covered with the results of its depredations. Its method of nidifi-
cation is peculiar. Instead of selecting, like other birds, a ready-
made hole in which to build, it much prefers to become its own
engineer, and to hollow out a suitable domicile with its beak.
Having made the hole, it proceeds to barricade the entrance with
mud and gravel, and in this manner it builds up a complete barrier
against all intruders, leaving only a small front door through which
to enter. I have received an interesting anecdote respecting the
nuthatch from a gentleman at Hitchin, which I shall venture to
repeat. "An old apple tree in our garden," says my friend,
"having begun to decay, a hole was made in it by a nuthatch and
a little chamber hollowed out at the bottom, sufficiently large to
admit of the rearing of a family. Through continuous decay, the
aperture became too extended ; so that it was necessary to reduce
it, and this was done by plastering it up with mud. The nuthatch
was allowed peaceable possession of its home for some years; it
was then vigoroixsly attacked by a house-sparrow, but the assailant
was compelled to beat an ignominious retreat. A wryneck next
determined to assault the citadel, and he commenced operations by
battering down the parapet. JSo sooner was this effected than the
nuthatch courageously attempted the work of restoration ; he
persevered for some time, but was at last overcome by superior
force and compelled to evacuate his fortress. The wryneck, in
his turn, was dispossessed by some starlings, and these birds re-
tained possession until the decay of the tree rendered it untenant-
able. It has recently been occupied by some bats."

Respecting the little wren, I will venture to relate a rather
curious incident which happens to have come under our personal
observation. Whilst its mate is engaged in sitting, the male bird
appears to occupy his time in building additional nests, but never
attempts to line them, an accomplishment that may probably ap-
pertain to the female. We had often noticed these extra nests,
and wondered what could be the meaning of them ; their utility
was exemplified in a somewhat singular manner. Some boys
intruded into our garden, one Sunday morning, and robbed it of
a wren's nest which we had carefully watched ; no sooner was the
nest taken away, than a spare nest close by, which had previously
remained unlined, was neatly finished and a new edition of eggs
quickly deposited.

J. E. LITTLEBOY — THE BLRDS OF OrE DISTRICT. 29

The habits of the cuckoo ■were so fully discussed at a recent
meeting of the Society, that I shall not again refer to them. The
woodpigeon or ringdove "visits us by thousands whenever there is
a good supply of beech-nuts, and we may confidently anticipate a
large influx of these birds during the coming winter. Nests of the
stock-dove have been found near Bcrkhampstead, at Gaddcsdcn
Hoo, and at King's Langley. The one at Bcrkhampstead was
built about a yard down in the hollow trunk of a walnut tree.
The turtle-dove is pretty abundant in the neighbourhood ; we
succeeded in capturing a young one in our own garden. Pheasants,
as at present reared, may almost be considered as domestic fowls.
It is quite different with the partridge, and I should like to relate
a short anecdote respecting it. I am informed by a gentleman, on
whom I can thoroughly depend, that the partridge will occasionally,
on the appearance of danger, remove all her eggs from a threatened
locality to a place of safety. He related to mc the following
interesting incident. ^Tien engaged in ploughing a fallow, he
observed the nest of a partridge, not far from the course of the
plough ; as each furrow was completed and as the plough ap-
proached nearer and nearer to the nest, it was found that the
eggs gradually decreased, and before the plough reached the spot
all had disappeared.

Only once have I been fortunate in identifying a quail. We
were driving along the turnpike road a little to the north of King's
Langley, and noticed a strange bird crouching in the grass by the
hedge-side. "We stopped and carefully examined it. It proved to
be a quail. It did not attempt to move, and my daughter had
approached almost within reach of it before it took wing and flew
rapidly away. It had probably but just arrived from abroad, and
was weary with its long flight. The harsh and monotonous note
of the corn-crake is of frequent occurrence during the summer
months. The peewit is abiindant on every side ; the heron has
occasionally been seen in the low meadows ; and those winter
visitors — the woodcock and the snipe — have frequently been shot
within our district. Of moorhens and dabchicks we have a plenti-
ful supply. A pair of the former hatched a young brood during
the summer, and it was most amusing to watch the little balls of
black down paddling about in the stream. 'The coot is said to
frequent the Tring Reservoirs, and one was taken some years ago
at King's Langley. Lastly, and I am sure you will be glad to
hear that welcome word, flocks of wild ducks may often be seen
during the winter, flying with outstretched necks, far, far above us,
to a more secluded and sheltered resting-place.

It will be observed that among the birds reported to have been
shot at Great Munden are some that are exceedingly rare ; several
of them being essentially sea-birds. It is probable that they may
have been driven inland by stress of weather, and I think that
they can hardly be regarded as birds of the district. The kite,
the two buzzards, and the raven have but very rarely of late
years been taken in the home counties, and in this instance, it must

30 J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE BIKDS OF OUR DISTRICT.

te remembered that it is now several years since most of them were
shot. Since commencing this paper, I have been informed that an
African widdah bird has been shot by Mr. Willshin on his farm at
South End, near Redboiirn. I mentioned the fact to Mr. Harting,
and he considers that the non-migratory habits of this bird render
it in the highest degree improbable that it could have found its
way to this country unaided, but that it was, in fact, an escaped
cage-bird. Only by yesterday's post I received from Mr. James
H. Tuke, of Hitchin, some interesting notes respecting birds near
that town. I shall ask leave to read the paper before we separate,
and I shall add the names of any of the birds referred to, which
have not been previously recorded, to my classified list.

I have now glanced very rapidly at a few of the leading charac-
teristics of most of the birds that frequent our district. I have
done so, I well know, in a very imperfect and superficial manner,
but I hope that I may have succeeded in exciting some little
interest in the subject that we have under discussion. Had I
possessed sufficient anatomical knowledge to enable me to do it, I
should have liked to lay before you a few particulars respecting
the marvellous adaptability of structure, exhibited by almost all
our birds, to the circumstances by which they are surrounded, and
to the method of their lives. The strong talon of the hawk, the
eye of the owl, the peculiar appliances of the butcher-bird, the
clasping claw of the little creepers, the wing of the swallow,
the egg of the cuckoo, the webbed foot of the water-fowl, and a
host of other not less striking characteristics, would have afforded
a wide field for comment. Whether these peculiarities or adapt-
ations are the result of progressive development ; whether, in
other words, the necessities and exigencies of life have engendered
in each bird its peculiar characteristics, or whether these peculiar
characteristics have themselves determined the destiny and manner
of its life, is a problem that I shall not even attempt to solve.

So far as Creative power is concerned, I confess that it appears to
me to be of extremely little import which of these theories is the
true one; whether it has pleased the Almighty to place His creatures
on the earth He had prepared for them in their present forms, or
whether He saw fit to endow them with certain germs of life which
should enable them, by slow degrees, to develope new faculties and
assume higher functions. This certainly is a most important
question for scientific investigation, but it is one that need not, in
the smallest degree, interfere with our estimate of the infinite
wisdom and almighty power of Creative skill. It is surely pleasant
to recognise in everything by which we are surrounded, be it ani-
mate or inanimate nature, the direct impress of divine goodness,
and to realise as far as possible the truth of Pope's well-known
couplet —

"All are but partf? of one stupendous -(vhole,
"Whose body nature is, and God the soxil."

J. E. LITILEBOT — THE BIRDS OF OTJR DISTRICT.

31

Appendix.*

Birds observed in the neighbourhood of Hunton Bridge and King's

Langley.

Einberizamelanocephala — Black-headed

Bunting.
Stiiriius vulgaris — Starling.

OsCINES.

Daulias Ltiscinia — Nightingale.

Riiticilla Phceincurus — Redstart.

EritluicHS Rubt'cida — Redbreast.

Pratineola rubicola — Stouechat.

P. rubetra — Whinchat.

Saxicola (Enmdlie — Wheatear.

Twdtis viscivorns — Missel Thrush.

T. musicHs — Song Thrush.

T. iliaciis — Redwing.

T. pilaris — Fieldfare.

T. Menda—^l-Ackh'vcA.

T. torquatus — Ring Ousel.

Cinclus aquaticus — Dipper.

Troglodytes parvulus—V^ren.

Regulus cristatus — Gold-crest.

Phylloscopus collybita — Chiffchaff.

P. Trochih(s-\y\\\o^ Wren.

St/lvia rufa — Whitethroat.

S. curruca — Lesser Whitethroat.

S. salicaria—Ga,v(\.eu Warbler.

S. atricapilla — Blackcap.

Acrocephalus arundinaceus — Great Reed
Warbler.

Calamodus schwnobcemcs— Sedge
Warbler.

Parus major— Great Titmouse.

P. ccerttleus — Blue Titmouse.

P. ater — Coal Titmouse.

P. palustris — Marsh Titmouse.

Acredula caudata — Long-Tailed Tit-
mouse.

Lanitis coUurio — Red-backed Shrike.

Miiscicapa grisola — Spotted Flycatcher.

Motacilla lugubris—Yied Wagtail.

M. sulphurea — Grey Wagtail.

M. Raii — Yellow, or Ray's, Wagtail.

Anthus trivialis — Tree Pipit.

A. pratensis — Meadow Pipit.

Accentor modularis — Hedge Sparrow.

Pijrrl) ula curopcea — Bullfinch.

L igurinus Chloris — Greenfinch.

Carduelis elegans — Goldfinch.

C. spinus — Siskin.

Linota linaria — Mealy Redpole.

L. cannabina — Linnet.

Coccothraustes vulgaris — Hawfinch.

Fringilla cvelebs — Chaffinch.

F. montif ring ilia — Brambling.

Passer montanus — Tree Sparrow.

P. domesticiis—'S.OMse Sparrow.

Emberiza miliaria — Bunting.

E. citrinella — Yellow Hammer.

Pica rustica — Magpie.

Garrulus glandarins — Jay.

Corvus Monedula — Jackdaw.

C. frugilegus — Rook.

C. corone — Carrion Crow.

C. Comix — Hooded, or Royston, Crow.

Certhia familiaris — Tree Creeper.

Sitta ccusia — Nuthatch.

Hiriindo rustica — Swallow.

Chelidon urbica — House Martin.

Cotyle riparia — Sand Martin.

Alauda arvensis — Skylark.

YoLUCBES.

Picus minor — Lesser Spotted Wood-
pecker.

Gecinus viridis — Green Woodpecker.

Yunx torquilla — Wryneck.

Cuculus canorus — Cuckoo.

Caprimulgus eMro/;f?/«— Nightjar.

Cypselus Apus — Swift.

Alcedo Ispida — Kingfisher.

Columba Palumbus — Ring Dove, or
Wood Pigeon.

C. (Enas — Stock Dove.

Turtur auritus — Turtle Dove.

ACCIPITRES.
Aluco Jlammeus — Barn Owl.
Strix stridula — Brown, or Tawny, Owl.
Accipiter Ntsus — Sparrow Hawk.
Falco Tinn unculus — Kestrel.

Galiin^.

Phasianus colehicus — Pheasant.
Caccabis rufa — Red-legged Partridge.
Perdix cinerea — Common Partridge.
Coturnix communis — Quail.

Grallatores.
Ardea cinerea — Heron.
Scolopax Rusticola — Woodcock.
Gallinago gallinaria — Common Snipe.
Limnocryptes Gallimila — Jack Snipe.
Vanellus cristatus — Lapwing.
Crex pratensis — Corn Crake.
Gallimila ckloropus — Moor-hen.
Fulica atra — Coot.

Natatores.
Podiceps cornutus — Dusky Grebe.
P. minor — Little Grebe, or Dabchick.
Anas Boschas — Wild Duck.

* The classification and nomenclature in this Appendix are in accordance with
Wharton's ' List of British Birds,' 1877. — Ei>.

32 J. E. LITTLEBOY THE BIRDS OF OITR DISTRICT.

Birds reported as having been shot several years ago at Great Mun-
den and still preserved in the vestibule of Mundcn House.

Corvus Corax — Eaven. Anser segetum — Bean Goose.

£uteo vulgaris — Buzzard. Mareca P(w«/o/)e— Widgeon.

Fernis aviporus— Honey Buzzard. Ntttium Crecca — Teal.

Milvus ictimis — Kite. Spatula clijpcata — Shoveller.

Machetes pugnax — EufF. Fuligula critttata — Tufted Duck.

CEdicnemiis Scolopax — Stone-curlew. F. marila — Sfuup.

Larus f metis — Lesser Black-backed Clanyuln G/«MCi6i/<— Golden-eye.

GuU. Mergus alhvllus — Smew.

Sula hassana — Gannet. M. serrator — Eed-bi'easted Merganser.

Birds observed in the neighbourhood of Hitchin and reported by
Mr. James H. Tuke.

Turdns torquatiis — Eing Ousel. Asio Otus — Long-eared Owl.

Locust tila navia — Grasshopper Biiteo vulgaris — Buzzard.

"Warbler. Falco JEsalon — Merlin.

Lanius excubitor — Great Grey Shrike. Actitis hypoleiicus — Common Sand-
Flectroiihanes nivalis — Snow Bunting. piper.

Corvus corcne — Carrion Crow. (Edioiemus Scolopax — Stone-curlew.

Birds shot at South End, near Redbourn.
Picus major — Great Spotted Woodpecker. Asio accipitrinus — Short-eared Owl.

33

3. — XOTES ON BiKDS OBSEKVED NEAE HlTCniN.

By James H. Tuke.

Communicated by J. E. Littleboy,

[Read 8th Xovcmber, 1877.]

Oaving to the unwearied and savage warfare waged against vermin
by the gamekeepers, the Raptores are daily becoming scarcer and
scarcer, and, with the exception of a few kestrels or sparrow-hawks,
they are almost extinct. One merlin and one common buzzard have
come to my knowledge during the past ten years. The brown owl,
the barn owl, and the long-eared owl, all breed occasionally, but
in spite of the services they render, they are shot whenever seen.
The short-eared owl is an autumn visitor. In passing, I may notice
the very early incubation of the long-eared owl. One egg I possess
was taken about the middle of February. The magpie, from the
cause mentioned above, is extinct in our neighbourhood, but the
bright blue of the jay's wing is happily seen, and its harsh cry
still heard in the woods. The carrion crow is also rarely seen. The
grey shrike has been obtained at intervals, and I am inclined to
think would be found to breed if carefully sought for. The common
shrike is very plentiful, and its "larder" may not unfrequently be
found. A bird-stuiier in the town informs me that he had ten
dozen of their eggs brought to him one season. Usually he has
four or five dozen in the season, but whether owing to the ' ' Preser-
vation Act," or the higher wages, which make the boys indifferent
about the pence, he has had comparatively few eggs brought him
during the three or four past years. Three or four dozen nightin-
gales' eggs were previously brought him each season, but for three
years he has had none brought him for sale. The goat-sucker
breeds in considerable numbers on Mardley Heath, about eight
miles from Hitcliin, but is only here occasionally. The ring ousel
is a passing visitor, but rare.

This district seems to me marked by the absence of several birds
either common or by no means rare in other nearly similar districts.
Among these, the pied flycatcher, the woodlark, the tree pipit, the
tree sparrow, and the wood-wren are marked examples. The titlark
even is rare. On the other hand, the hawfinch breeds here in con-
siderable abundance, and, as noticed above, the common slirike is
also plentiful. The reed warbler and the grasshopper warbler are
by no means uncommon. The swift is very plentiful here, and not
less than ten pairs breed yearly in the roof of my house, much to
my pleasure. The green woodpecker yearly becomes scarcer, but
the spotted is frequently heard, though difiicult to see. The wry-
neck is very abundant and the nuthatch is not uncommon. King-
fishers also are numerous.

In a district nearly devoid of streams we can have little opportu-
nity of noticing the Waders, and the only one which has come

VOL. II. — PT. I. 3

34 J. n. TrKE — birds obseeted xeae hitchin.

under my notice is the common sandpiper, which is sometimes seen
on the banks of our little stream — the Hiz. The stone curlew
or jS^orfolk plover is a regular visitor on the Chalk downs to
the west of the town, where it breeds, though I have never had
their eggs from that neighbourhood. The quail and red-legged
partridge are also common, as also is the dabcliick.

Before closing these hasty notes on the birds around Hitchin, I
should like to call attention to how much may be done, even in a
small space, by carefully protecting birds. Immediately adjoining
the town of Hitchin, on the road to the station, from which it is
not distant more than a quarter of a mile, my partner, Mr. Seebohm,
and myself, have about seven acres of wood, in which, in addition
to the commoner birds, the following have bred : — The sparrow-hawk,
rook, jackdaw, hawfinch, turtle-dove, stock-dove, cushat, nightin-
gale, bullfinch, redstart, golden-crest, longtailed tit, and kingfisher.
The last named took possession, some years ago, of quite a small
sand-pit, which was not more than six feet across, and dug a
deep hole in the side of the pit (two feet or more in depth) ; and
in each succeeding year, in various parts of the dell, wherever
sand has been dug out, these beautiful birds have brought out one
or more broods. Is not Tennyson's " Blue bird of March " intended
for the kingfisher, as it commences to utter its curio-us note and to
build, or rather bore for, its nest, early in this month ? ^yhat is
curious about the position of these nests is, that the sand-pits are
surrounded by trees and quite away from the small stream whicb
runs through the town. The thrush and blackbird build in large
numbers in tliis little wood, and it is an excellent place for listening
to their song. "It's quite a charm of bii'ds, sir," as a laboui'er
said to me one day, using quite naturally the words which Chaucer
uses in his unrivalled descriptions of the song of birds in the early
spring morning.

I do not think the fact of the great variety and individuality of
the song of birds of the same species has been sufficiently noted.
To me it seems that there is as great an individuality in the notes
of the thrash or blackbird as there is in the voices of different
people, and I notice the same peculiarity of note going on year after
year in what I believe to be the same bird. Blackbirds often have
a curious little finishing note, and one especially which I noticed,
seemed to sing over and over again the name of a gentleman of my
acquaintance, in a manner which I have never heard before or
since ; and what note is there which equals in depth and melody
the early morning note of the blackbird — which, quite distinct
from that in the after part of the day, seems to come forth as a
morning anthem of praise and joy ! In addition to the birds, the
fox, the rabbit, and the hedgehog all breed in the wood.

35

4. — FiJiiTHEii Notes on Our Birds.
By John E. Littleboy.
[Read 13th December, 1877.]

May I be allowed a few words in addition to the paper I read
last month, and also in reply to the remarks of onr ex-President
respecting the removal of her eggs by the partridge ? I will take the
question respecting the partridge first. I have made inquiry in refer-
ence to the particular incident I alluded to, from my informant,
Mr. Thomas Procter, of Gaddesden Hoo, and he tells me that the
partridge nest he noticed was constructed upon the headland of a
fallow ; that, as every furrow was completed, the horses turned
round within a few yards of the nest ; and that not only were the
eggs gradually removed from it, but that he actually discovered
the new nest, not far distant from the old spot, to which the
partridge was conveying them. They were all transferred in
safety, and in due time most of them were hatched. Mr. Procter
was not successful in ascertaining the modus operandi by which the
transport of the eggs was effected, but I think that the fact of
their removal by the parent bird is placed beyond the question of
doubt. I am also informed by the same gentleman of an interest-
ing fact respecting the partridge, which is, I think, worthy of
record. A few years ago a hay-rick on an adjoining farm was
allowed to remain for some time with a few trusses cut out from
the top of one of its corners ; on the workmen returning to cut the
remaining portion, they found the nest and eggs of a partridge on
the ledge previously left. The nest was at least ten feet from the
ground. I believe this to be a very unusual occurrence ; it is, of
course, well known that partridges build almost invariably upon
the ground, and I have never before heard of an exception to this
rule.

In my last paper I mentioned the fact of thirteen brown or
tawny owls being driven at one time from a pigeon house at
Chipperfield. These birds usually resort to holes or clefts in the
trunks of trees, and the fact of their being found in a pigeon house
may probably have appeared strange to those who know their
habits. I am able, I think, satisfactorily to explain the vagary.
These owls had for many years frequented an adjoining wood, but
several of the trees which had heretofore supplied them with a
home fell before the stroke of the axe. " Necessity knows no
law," and in their homeless and destitute condition, they availed
themselves, doubtless with a sense of thankful appreciation, of the
ready shelter afforded by a neighbouring dovecot.

Respecting kestrels, I am glad to be able to append an additional
fact. I am informed by Mr. "William Copeland that a brood of six
young birds was hatched during last summer in the cleft of an oak
at Russell Fann.

36 J. E. LITTLEBOY — PtJKTHER NOTES ON OUR BIRDS.

I have to report an addition of three birds to the list pre-
viously read.* On the 14th of November we had the pleasure
of identifying a ring ousel {Tiirdm torquatus) in the most satisfac-
tory manner. We observed it from the turnpike-road between
Hunton Bridge and King's Langley, at a distance from us of about
20 or 30 yards. It was seen a second time on the 21st of Novem-
ber, at almost precisely the same place. The ring ousel is abundant
during the summer in Scotland, and in some parts of the North of
England. I have but little doubt that the bird we were fortunate
enough to notice was merely a passing visitor, journeying from
its northern abode to winter quarters. It is said to select Corsica
and other of the Mediterranean Islands as its winter retreat. My
friend Mr. Fletcher Harris, of Leighton Buzzard, informs me, also,
that on three different occasions he has observed specimens of a
decidedly uncommon grebe upon the Tring Reservoir. At first he
believed it to be the red-necked grebe {Podiceps rubricoUis), but on
closer examination he has no hesitation in identifying it as Podiceps
cornutus, or the "dusky grebe." It is stated by Meyer as a
" remarkable fact in the character of this species, that it generally
swims about near the shore and scarcely ever dives on the approach
of danger till it becomes imminent." This characteristic is strik-
ingly confirmed by Mr. Harris, who writes to me as follows: —
" The three birds I saw were much larger and more slim than the
dabchick. They were almost close to the side, and although I
tried to frighten them, they did not take any notice. Most of the
coots, of which I think I saw between thirty and forty, went off
into the reeds directly they saw me." The dusky grebe is said to
be a permanent I'esident in many parts of Scotland. It is reported
as having been shot at Weston Favell, near Northampton, and also
in the neighbourhood of Oxford, in both cases during the winter
months, but I cannot discover that it has previously been seen in
Hertfordshire. Lastly, I find that the carrion crow [Corvus cor one)
has been observed near Bousebarn-lane, in the lower portion of
Cassiobury Park. Perhaps I had better state, before I conclude,
that a small Wader has been observed by Mr. Thomas Toovey, in
the low meadows near King's Langley. He believes it to be one
of the sandpipers, but has not been able definitely to identify it ;
possibly some of our members may be able to look up the interesting
stranger and report its name to a future meeting of the Society.

* See p. 31. The three additional species are incorporated in the list.

37

5. — TiEPORT ON Phenological Obsekvations in Hertfordshire in

1876.

By John Hopkinson, F.L.S., «&;c., Hon. Sec.

[Read 13th December, 1877.]

At one of the earliest meetings of our Society I drew attention
to the steps which have been taken by the Meteorological Society of
London to obtain a series of observations of certain periodical
natural phenomena, or phonological phenomena as they have been
termed ; and I requested the assistance of our members in the
compilation of a Naturalists' Calendar for the County of Hertford,
giving a list of the species to be observed and instructions for their
observation.* To this request, I regret to say that only one member
has responded by carrying out a systematic series of observations.
I allude to Lieut. E,. B. Croft, F.L.S., of Great Cozens, Ware,
from whom we had a suggestive paper on the subject at the June
meeting last year,f and to whom we are also indebted for some
notes from a friend at Ware, who is not a member of our Society.
A few communications have also been received from other membeis,
but these are almost entirely confined to observations on the night-
ingale and the cuckoo. The following report gives therefore, with
a few exceptions, the results of the observations of Lieut. Croft
and his friend, Mr. S. J. Carter, for Ware, and myself only for
Watford.

Taking the species in the order given in the table (' Trans.' vol. i.
p. 36) we have first to record the dates on which the flowers of
certain plants were observed to be jpen ; and here we at once
meet with a difficulty, due entirely to the small number of our
observers. It is impossible for one person to observe all the species
selected, or to say, for instance, that any species observed to be
apparently just in flower did actually open its flowers for the first
time on a certain day, while, with such a corps of observers as our
Society might furnish, few species ought to escape the detection of
their flowers when first open. This difiiculty may be partially
overcome by assigning from the observers' notes, or from the ap-
pearance of the specimens when these have been collected and
forwarded, a date for the first flowering, not always that on which
the flower was first seen, but sometimes a few days before. For
instance, if a plant is recorded to have been generally in flower on
a certain day, it may be inferred that some days have elapsed since
its first flower opened, and if a specimen received has some flower
or flowers in seed, or nearly so, the same conclusion will also be
drawn. An earlier date than that recorded should in such cases be
given as the probable date. In the following table in all instances
in which it is certain that a plant opened its flowers before the
date observed, two or three days have been subtracted from the

* Transactions, vol. i. p. 33. t Ibid, p. xxxix.

38 J, HOPKINSON — REPOET ON PHENOLOGICAL

date registered, and these altered dates are indicated hy a (?) as in
the Rev. T, A. Preston's reports published by the Meteorological
Society.

No. Species. "Watford. "Ware.

1. j4nemone nemorosa (wood anemone) Mar. 21 Mar. 24

2. Eanunculu!^ Ficaria (pilewort) Mar. 23 Mar. 2o

3. R. acris (ujiright crowfoot) Apl. 28

4. Caltha pnlustris [mdii'sh m.mgo\di) Mar. 15

5. Papaver Rhaeas (red poppy) June 2 June 8

7. Cardamine pratensis (cuckoo flower) Apl. 20 (?) Apl. 15

9. Viiila odorata (sweet violet) Mar. 1 1

10. Tolijgala vulgaris (milkwort) June 14

11. ZycZ/Mw i^/os-c«M</< (ragged Eobin) June 2 June 8

12. iS^e/Zarirt 2fo/o«tea (greater stitch wort) Apl. 20 (?) Apl. 4

13. J/flfoa syfee«<rts (common mallow) June 10 (?) June 9

16. Geranium Robertianum (herb Hobert) Apl. 30 May 7

17. Tr if nlium repens {Tiuic\ closer) May 28 May 29

18. Lotus corniculatus (birdsfoot trefoil) May 27 (?) May 25

19. Vicia Cracca (tufted vetch) June 30 June 30

20. V. sepium (bush vetch) Apl. 23 Apl. 27

21. Zfl!i!/(j^rMS jBr«<<'««M (meadow vetchling) June 12

22. Prunus spinosa (blackthorn) Apl. 6 (?) Apl. 6

23. Spircea JJlmaria (meadow-sweet) June 30 June 23

24. Potentilla anserina (silver-weed) May 22

25. P. Frngariastrtm, (barren strawberry) Mar. 22 (?) Mar. 23 (?)

26. Rosa canina (dog rose) June 11 June 12

30. Anthrisciis sylvestris ["^TiMi chQT:\'A) Apl. 26 Apl. 20

32. Galium Aparine (cleavers) May 25 (?) May 31

33. G. verum (yellow bedstraw) June 30

37. Tussilago Farfara (coltsfoot) Mar. 23

38. Achillea Millefolium (milfoil) June 24

39. Chrysanthemum Leimmthemum (ox-eye) May 28 (?) May 31

41. Senecio Jacobeea (ragwort) June 24

42. Centaurea nigra (black knapweed) June 26

44. Carduus arvensis (field thistle) July 1 (?) July 1 (?)

46. Jlieracium pilosella (moiise-CAv) May 21

47. Campanula rotimdifolia (hairbell) July 9

60. Symphytum officinale (comfrey) May 23

52. J'ej-owjca 6'/i«w<<e(5?;</s (germander speedwell) May 4 May 2

65. Thymus Serpyllum (wild thyme) June 26

67. Nepeta Glechoma (ground ivy) Apl. 6 Mar. 30

69. Stachys sylvatica (hedge woundwort) June 18 June 9

60. Ajuga reptans {cree^mg hvigle) May 12 (?) May 7

61. Primula veris (cowslip) Mar. 18 Mar. 29

62. Plaidago lanceolata (ribwort) Apl. 17 (?) Apl. 14

63. Mercurialis 2}ere}inis (dog's mercury) Mar. 25

67. Orchis maculata (spotted orchis) June 3 June 14

68. Iris Pseudacorus i^^Qyi vn£) June 10 June 12

71. Endymion nutans (blue-bell) Apl. 23

Of the 45 plants enumerated in this table, it will be seen that
34 were observed by myseK in the neighbourhood of Watford,
and 39 by Lieut. Croft and Mr. Carter near Ware. When the
same species was seen first in flower on different days by the two
observers for Ware, the earliest date is entered. The dates appear
on the whole to be slightly earlier at Watford than at Ware, a
result we might have anticipated from the position of the two
places ; and it is more than probable that had there been two

OBSEKVATIONS IN HEBTFOEDSHLRE IN 1876. 39

observers at Watford as well as at Ware, still earlier dates would
have been recorded for the former place, making the difference
more apparent. Of the 28 species observed in both localities, 14
appear to have been out earliest at Watford and 1 1 at Ware, while
3 are entered to the same day. Taking, however, three days as a
sufficiently near interval to be considered synchronous, we have 12
species which may be said to have come into flower at the same
time in both localities, while the greatest observed amplitude (in
Stellaria Holostea) is only sixteen days.

We have next to consider the reports which have been received
concerning the insects and birds, etc., in the Meteorological Society's
list. These cannot so well be entered in a tabular form as in the
case of the plants, but the results may be almost as briefly ex-
pressed. The initials used refer to the observers already mentioned.

75. Pier is BrassiccB (large white cabbage-butterfly). Seen at Watford, April
30— J. H.

76. Pieris RapcR (small white cabbage-butterfly). Seen at "Ware, April 4 —
K. B. C. ; Watford, April 9— J. H.

79. Trichocera hiemalis (winter gnat). Seen at Watford, December 25, 1875,
to March 1— J. H.

81. Muscicapa grisola (flycatcher). Seen at Ware, May 22 — S. J. C.

82. Tardus musicus (song thrush). Heard at Watford, December 25, 1875 —
J.H.

84. Baidias Zuscinia (nightingale). Heard at Watford, April 20— J.H. ;
Ca!>siobury, April 22— Lord Essex; Ware, April 21— S.J.C. ; April 22— R.B.C. ;
Odsey, April 22 — H. G. Fordham. One caught in Mr. Harford's conservatory,
Watford, April 19.

88. Alauda arvensis (skylark). Heard at Watford, December 25, 1875 — J.H.

90. Coitus frugilegus (rook). Began to build at Russell Farm, Watford,
February 8— W. Copeland.

91. Ciiculus canorus (cuckoo). Heard at Pinner, Middlesex, April 21 — Dr.
Brett; Ware, April 21— R. B. C. ; April 23— S. J. C. ; Cassiobuiy, Watford,
April 22— Lord Essex; Munden Park, Watford, April 22— J. H.

92. Hiruiido rustica (swallow). Seen at St. Albans, April 22 — Rev. C. M.
Perkins ; Ware, AprU 23— R. B. C. and S. J. C. ; AVatford, April 25— J. H.

93. Ci/pstlus Apus (swift). Seen at Watford, May 16— R. B. C. ; Ware, May
19— S. J. C.

97. £ana teniporaria (common fi'Og). Spawn seen at Ware, April 4 — R. B. C.

Amongst the above there are a few species, usually first appear-
ing about the beginning of the year, which date back to the
end of the preceding year. These are rightly included in the
report for 1876. Eor the year 1875 we have also, however, a few
other records which I will here give.

5. Papaver Mhwas (red poppy). Watford, May 27 — J. H.
11. Lychnis Flos-cuculi (ragged Robin). Watford Heath, May 29 — J. H.
39. Chrysanthemuni Leucuntheiimm (ox-eye). Watford, May 23 — J. H.
49. Coitoulvidus sepiuiu (greater bindweed). Watford, July 5 — J. H.
60. Symphytum officinah (comfrey). River Colne, Watford, by May 19 — J. H.
84. Daulias Luscinia (nightingale). Heard at Odsey, April 19 — H. G.
Fordham.

91. Cuculus canorus (cuckoo). Heard at Watford, April 17 — A. Cottam ;
Russell Farm, Watford, April 19— W. Copeland.

92. Hirundo rustica (swaUow). First seen at Watford, April 18, last seen
November 20 — J. King. First seen at Odsey, April 27— H. G. Fordham.

40 PHENOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN 1876.

Comparing: these few records with those for 1876, it is at once
seen that in 1875 phmts were considerably earlier in flower tlian in
1876, and that birds appeared also a few days earlier. A further
comparison of one year with another may be made in future
reports, but we can now only draw attention to the fact that 1876
was "a late year," this being due, as reference to any meteoro-
logical register would show, to the coldness of the spring and
early summer — the temperature of the months of March to June
inclusive being considerably below the average.

It only remains for me to ask for more assistance than I have
hitherto received, so that future reports may be more worthy of
our Society. Any notes that may have been made during the
year now drawing to a close will be gladly received ; and I would
especially urge upon those of our members who have frequent
opportunities of taking walks in the country — and there must be
many who have, and who would perhaps more often take a country
walk if they had an object in view — to note down next year the
time of flowering of as many of the plants in our list as they
possibly can, and to forward their notes monthly to me, together
with specimens of the flowers, when these can be procured. The
entire plants are not required, and the flowers need only be roughly
pressed, by placing them within the leaves of a book for instance.
Observations of as many as possible of the insects and birds also
should be made; but it is not necessary that any one member should
take the entire list of species — some may observe the plants, others
the insects, others the birds. There are few among us who do not
notice some of these. " In fact," as Lieut. Croft said in his paper
before referred to, "we all do notice these occurrences, though we
may not record them." This is what is required — not merely to
look out at the commencement of the new year for the first snow-
drop, and to listen daily from about the middle of April for the
first note of the cuckoo and nightingale, but also to record what is
observed.

41

6. — The Products of Hektfoedshibe.

By the Rev. James C, Clutterbuck, M.A.

Communicated by A. T. Beett, M.D., President.

[Read 10th January, 1878.]

"When it was suggested that I should read a second paper before
this Society, the Products of Hertfordshire seemed to be a subject
on which I might have something to say. As in the case of the
neighbourhood of Watford, the county may be divided into two
parts — that to the south being covered by the Tertiary beds, that
to the north being Chalk, for the most part covered with loam,
gravel, and some outlying patches of the Tertiary beds m situ, its
northern limit verging on the Upper Greensand and Gault clay.

This geological condition will rule most of the natural and
artificial products of the county. Of the natural products the
forestry claims the first place. Here I am met with the dilficulty
that this ground has already, happily for this Society, been occu-
pied in a great measure by Canon Gee. Nevertheless, without
treading too closely on his steps, something still remains to be said
on the conditions, geological and physical, under which some of
the forestry of Hertfordshire has been produced.

The chief natural product of all countries is their forestry. It
would be difiicult to separate the strictly indigenous trees from
those introduced from foreign countries. The oak, elm, and ash
may at least be classed with the former. As a boy, more than
sixty years ago, I often saw the Panshanger Oak, then without a
trace of decay upon it. The Burnt Oak in Oxhey-lane, though
a wreck, was still alive at that same period. A younger tree, I
believe, now marks the division of the two counties. If I re-
member rightly, the old tree was spoken of as such in the reign of
Charles the Second. The oaks growing, as this, on the Tertiary
beds, for the most part thrive better than those in the Chalk dis-
trict, which, as woodland or hedgeroAV timber, with some exceptions,
are of a stunted and unthrifty growth. Some of the finest oaks I
remember to have seen in Hertfordshire were growing on the out-
cropping Gault, or, as sometimes called, oak-tree clay, at Hinks-
worth, at the extreme north of the county. I'he elm known as
the Hertfordshire Elm has been called the weed of the county.
With a greater development on deeper soils, it seeks its nourish-
ment by spreading its roots nearer the surface than the oak. The
Hertfordshire Ash bears a good name, and fetches a high price as
wheelwrights' timber, though it is no favourite with cultivators of
the soil. We know that it formed the shafts of the spears of our
Saxon forefathers, proving at least its anti(iuity as a product of
this county. The beech, we are told, on the authority of Caesar
(as stated by Canon Gee), is not indigenous, yet no tree covers a
lai'ger extent of ground, even to the exclusion of the undergrowth

42 EEV. J. C. CLTJTTEEBTJCK — PEODUCTS OF HERTFORDSHIEE.

of coppice permitted by other forest trees. I am not sure that we
are told by CoBsar of what trees the forestry consisted in this part
of the county, of which he says of the Cassii and others : " Ab its
cognoscit, non Jonge ex eo loco oppidum Cassivellauni abesse, silvis paludi-
husque mimitum, quo satis magnus hominum pecorisque numerus con-
venerit. Oppidum autem Britanni vacant, quum silvas impeditas vallo
atque fossd munierunt, quo incursionis hostium vitandfB causa convenire
consuevertmt.^^ The beech on the Chalk, especially on the escarp-
ment overhanging the Vale of Aylesbury, furnishes material, which
it shares with the elm, oak, ask, and, I believe, cherry, for the
manufacture of chairs, of which Wycombe is the well-known
centre. In vindication of this distinction, Ave lately learned that
the Queen, when on her progress to visit the Prime Minister, stayed
on the way to look at and admire, before she passed under, a
triumphal arch composed of chairs. Whether any portion of these
chairs was of Hertfordshire growth we must be content to be
ignorant. The chestnut — the Spanish chestnut as it is called —
whether indigenous or imported, as you have been told by Canon
Gee, attains very large dimensions and great age. It enters into
the construction of many of our oldest buildings, and is often from
its similarity to oak mistaken for it. According to Clutterbuck, the
Wymondley Chestnut is described in Gilpin's 'Forest Scenery,'
and it is said that in 1789 it measured fourteen yards in circum-
ference at five feet from the ground. I have a drawing of the
Wymondley Chestnut by Thomas Hearne, a well-known artist of
the last and present century, who lies buried with his brother-
artists, Edridge and Henry Monro, in Bushey churchyard. The
drawing is dated 1795. The tree is spoken of by Canon Gee as a
wreck. A comparison of this very elaborate drawing with the
present tree would show the effect of more than 80 years on that
venerable production of Hertfordshire soil.*

Of trees of foreign rather than English origin, the fir grove at
Cassiobury shows the size to which this tree may attain in a soil
suited to its growth — probably a deep loam on gravel resting on
chalk. There is an old and interesting book, written by Moses
Cook, gardener to the Earl of Essex, bearing date 1724, on the
manner of raising, and ordering, and improving forest ti'ees. He
speaks of planting the lime trees, in and about that seat of the Earl
of Essex, whom he alludes to as a great planter ; thus we have a
clue to the age of the lime trees at Cassiobury,f most of these
trees having been raised by him at Hadham Hall. The cedar attains
gigantic growth at Chorlcywood. It has been observed by a per-
son well skilled in forestry that some of the largest trees are found
where there is subsoil water, as in this case, and that its removal
endangers the life of the tree. I know some cases in which this
has been the effect on elm trees. When it was proposed by the
Thames Conservancy to lower the level of the Thames where that

* A very clever copy of this drawing has been presented to the Society by Mr.
Clutterbuck.— Ed.
t Many other trees were most probably planted here at this time.

EKT. J. C. CLTTTTEEBirCK — PRODUCTS OF nERTFOEDSniKE. 43

river bounds the Home Park at "Windsor, -n-ith a view of relieving
the Queen's drive of floods, by the advice of Mr. Menzies, the sur-
veyor of the park, this was not carried out, lest the noble elms in
that part of the park should suffer from the level of the subsoil
water being thus lowered.

Not to trench on ground already occupied, the coppice under-
wood is for the most part hazel. This is used for the ordinary
purposes of underwood ; but, as I remember well, having often as a
boy watched the doings of a wood-turner, the hazel rods are some-
times cut into short lengths and turned into various forms used in
the manufacture of tassels and the like in furniture. The produce
of these trees being deemed of wild growth, and therefore common
property, is often sought by strangers to the detriment of the
underwood. The soil suited to the hazel is also fitted for the cul-
tivation of the filbert as a marketable article.

The cherry is the principal fruit-bearing tree of the county ; its
wood is not without its proper use. I do not know if its growth
is continued as extensively as of old. It is mostly found on the
higher levels of the chalk district, where the chalk is covered by
thick beds of loam resting on gravel. When viewed from the
higher ground when the cherry-trees are in blossom, the orchards
have the appearance of patches of snow. Though the season of the
year dissipates this illusion, it gives no security against the late and
untimely frosts by which the promise of the future crop is so often
destroyed in a single night. The age of many of the trees shows
that the culture of the cherry is of ancient date. The commercial
value of the fruit is considerable. Often bought on the trees by
dealers, much of the fruit finds its way into the manufacturing
districts, where it is used in dyeing ; it is used also in making
cherry brandy, and, if report be true, enters largely into the com-
position of liquors to which it does not give its name. The chief
sorts are the small Hertfordshire black and caroon (spelt corowne
in the book already spoken of). The wild uncultivated tree grows
freely in the woodlands, and affords stocks on which the fruit-
bearing trees are engrafted. The north-western limits of the
county either in part comprehend or verge upon a district in which
the phim is extensively and successfully cultivated, subject to the
drawbacks it has in common with the cherry orchards in the cen-
tral parts of the county.

The greater part of the soil of Hertfordshire is under arable
cultivation; the portion occupied by meadow or grass land is
almost confined to that bounded by the county of Middlesex, of
which the produce is chiefly made into hay, for which a ready sale
is found in London. The process of haymaking, from the critical
requirements of the London market, is carried out with much care,
not freed from anxiety lest the colour and bouquet should suffer
either from the weather or the want of care and judgment in
making or stacking. The feeding properties of the grass are not of
a high order. The arable land, mostly gravel on chalk, is rather
healthy than fertile, and for this reason an old writer has said of

44 EEV. J. C. CLTTTTERBTJCK PEODFCTS OF HERTFORDSHIRE.

Hertfordshire, "It is the Garden of England for delight, men
commonly say that ' such as buy a house in Hertfordshire ])ay two
years purchase for the aire thereof.' " The most fertile district is
that of which Hitchin may be deemed the centre. It was from
this neighbourhood, known of old as the Vale of llingtalc, that the
wheat yielding the flour known as the Hertfordshire White was
grown ; indeed, it will be found that the district of land under the
undulating escarpment of the chalk hills, extending along the
southern part of the Vales of Aylesbury and White Horse, produces
in quantity and quality some of the best English-grown wheats.
The late Mr. Hainworth, of Hitchin, carried out with great success
the cultivation of varieties of wheat, some of which at least bear
his name. This is a branch of agriculture requiring great care and
attention, and is of acknowledged value. There is a wheat ex-
tensively grown in Berkshire, known as the Hertfordshire White,
which I have reason to believe may be traced to the labours of the
late Mr. Hainworth, as first produced by his care in selection, and
raised by his intelligence and persevering skill.

Not only is the Vale of Ringtale famed for its wheat-producing
quality, but the straw grown in the district is specially adapted for
the manufacture of straw-plait, and was probably the primary and
chief cause of the establishment of that industry of which Luton,
in Bedfordshire, is the acknowledged centre, that place, as shown
on the map of either county, being on a tongue of land in the
south of Bedfordshire, surrounded on three sides by the county of
Hertford. Those who grow the wheat straw to be used for plaiting
take great pains to harvest it in such a manner as will insure its
coming straight and uninjured from the barn or stack. Straw
drawing is a neat find skilful operation, requiring care and practice.
Though the chalk district of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire,
and Hertfordshire furnish considerable quantities of the raw
mateiial, it is sought in the Vale of the White Horse, in Berkshire,
and Oxfordshire, where the finer sorts of wheat, especially the
Chiddam and kindred qualities, are grown. Sometimes, when the
plaiting trade and the quality and harvesting is good, the value of
the straw will be equal to that of the corn ; as the ears are cut off,
and the chaff, caving, and flag left behind, there is little waste.
The moral effect of this manufacture has often been called in
question, and the adjustment of educational requirements with the
early ago at which children are taught and employed in straw
plaiting seems not without its difficulties. Be that as it may, it is
clear that straw plait is one of the productions of the county of
Heitford, as well as the straw from which it is manufactured.

The neighbourhood of Hitchin is not less remarkable for its
wheat than its barley. Of Queen Elizabeth it is said that she
gave to the barley the name of "her Hitchin grape." It is said
that the wheat she consumed was not the Hertfordshire White, but
that grown on the deep loam of Heston, in Middlesex, a soil now
well nigh exhausted, having furnished brick earth for the buildings
in London — a fate which the soil of Hitchin has escaped. This

EET. J. C. CLUTTEKBTTCK PEODUCTS OF nEETFORDSHTEE. 45

still no doubt furnishes the raw material for the manufacture of
malt, the extensive trade in -which is witnessed by the malt-
houses of Ware, Bishop's Stortford, and other places.

The building materials of Hertfordshire are furnished by the
Chalk as lime ; and the clays of the Tertiary formation, as at
Bushey, for the manufacture of bricks ; but we must not forget
that the clunch, or lower bed of the Chalk, of which the Abbey,
now Cathedral, of St. Alban's, and well-nigh all the churches in
the county, are more or less built, is fouud on the northern limits
of the county.

It should be remembered that it is to the geological condition of
the county that its beautiful streams are due. These drove the
mills of our forefathers, as they drive ours, and they find motive
power for commercial enterprise unknown to those of old ; and
looking rather to the days of Isaac Walton than the present, as
abounding with trout of exceptionably fine quality, they furnished
recreation for some of the best of men, and England's most
scientific sons ; to old Isaac, or — as he wrote it — Izaac, who
begins his well-known and charming book, 'The Complete Angler,
or Contemplative Man's Eecreation,' with a description of his
journey to Ware, as Piscator, in company with Yenator and
Anceps, to fish in the Eiver Lea, one of his favourite resorts.
The value of the rights of fishing at that time, in the Manor of
Hertford, may be estimated by having been granted, by King
Charles the First, to W^illiam, Earl of Salisbury. It was here that
Sir Humphry Davy exercised the gentle craft. It was on the
banks of the Colne that he found the materials for the opening
pages of his ' Salmonia,' and it was by the aid of these waters
that the predecessors of your late President gained a triumph of
mechanical skill.

In the production of root crops Hertfordshire seems often to have
led the way. This produce of the soil, with the diminished value
of the chief cereal crops, bids fair to be the staple of the future of
English agriculture. The samples of these productions more than
ever form interesting features of agricultural shows, and by good
and liberal cultivation overcome the difficulties presented by a
naturally unproductive soil. The Swedish turnip, of the intro-
duction of which I do not know the exact date, trusting to the
accounts of agriculture in the first years of this century, was little,
if at all, cultivated in many counties at that time, whereas here its
cultivation had extended from the amateur to the practical farmer.
I well remember, when travelling in Sufi:olk in the autumn of
1812, my father, who held a small farm, and always took an
interest in practical farming, noticed the fields of Swedish turnips
as of unusual occurrence, and though at that time in Hertfordshire
the quality of the soil was considered by some unfitted for its
growth, for many years past it has formed thi'oughout the county
a part of the usual rotation of crops.

Hertfordshire seems, especially at the beginning of the century,
to have been a county of experiments by the introduction of machinery

46 EEV. J. C. CLUTTERBIJCK PRODUCTS OF HEETFOEBSHIEE.

and newly cultivated plants. Mr. Greg, Sir John Sebright,
Mr. Rogers Parker, of Munden, Lady Salisbury, and, I may add,
my own father, were ready at all times to test the value of new
productions. There is a very remarkable record of the cultivation
of 17 acres of land under Lady Salisbury's direction, in which we
meet with a root not otherwise mentioned, namely mangel wurzel,
then, I believe, called the "root of scarcity," as distinguished from
ordinary beetroot. I first saw it cultivated by the late Mr.
Nicholson Calvert, who at one time represented the county ; he
showed it and spoke of it as a new introduction in the summer of
1817. We find it before that date, in 1795, cultivated by Lady
Salisbury, forming one of the 17 acres from which it is stated that
a profit of £462 10s. was realised, chiefly from the sale of 41,000
cabbages at l^d. each, grown on 7 acres. The gross produce
was £598.

Here the experiments carried on by Mr. Lawes, of Rothamstead,
assisted by Dr. Gilbert, deserve especial notice. The details are
regularly given to, and are, therefore, before the public. As these
experiments are carried on iipon that which may be deemed an
average soil of a great part of the arable land of Hertfordshire,
over and above their great value to agriculture in general, they
show how and in what proportion the natural quality and condition
of the soil, and the application of various manures, or the absence
of all manure, stimulate the production or exhaust its fertility.
These experiments show in the plainest and most convincing
manner, which of the constituents of the cereals, roots, and other
products of the soil, especially of Hertfordshire, are supplied by
the atmosphere or are taken up from the soil ; and as connected
with these experiments, it may be mentioned that one of the
manures generally known as artificial is found at the northern
extremity of the county. It bears the name of coprolites, which
does not truly describe the substances or nodules, more or less con-
sisting of fossils charged with a considerable amount of phosphate
of lime, probably due to the breaking up of the beds of the Upper
Greensand above the Gault, on the surface of which they are
usually found in large quantities. They are ground and chemically
treated, and returned to the soil as a valuable mineral manure,
a product of the county.

There is a natural production of Hertfordshire, which, within
the present century, has been turned to considerable commercial
account as a cultivated plant. In times gone by, those who sold
watercresses were content, like Goldsmith's

" . . . . "Wretched matron, forced in age, for bread,
To strip the brook with mantling cresses spread."

Those who cultivate the watercresses now are very different from
the "widowed solitary thing " of the poet, now that this trade has
assumed such extensive proportions. One word as to the "wretched
matron." The deserted village was no doubt suggested to Goldsmith
by a village in Ireland, his native land, but, fi-om the village of

7

EET. J. C. CLUTTEEBTJCK PKODUCTS OF HEKTFOEDSHIRE. 4

Nuneham in Oxfordshire being removed to another site, and one
old woman having refused to quit her hovel, which she was per-
mitted to retain till her death, a "widowed solitary thing," the
spot where she lived is to this day marked by a tree, named " Bab's
Tree." Some have identified the wretched matron of Goldsmith
Avith "Widow Bab of Nuneham. More than doubtful as this story
is, there is no doubt that the systematic cultivation of the mantling
cress was begun in Hertfordshire by Mr. Bradbury, at West Hyde,
in the parish of Rickmansworth. He began by renting the ditches
of the occupier of a farm in the valley of the Colne. From a small
beginning, by cleansing and widening, he increased the area of the
beds, regulating the height of the water by artificial dams, and select-
ing the best sort of watercress, of which that known as the Dutch
brown is preferred. Thus Bradbury's cultivated watercress be-
came a regular article of trafiic in the London market, and claimed
for Hertfordshire and Mr. Bradbury the credit of converting a
wild plant into a systematically cultivated product, the present
commercial value of which it would be difiicult to calculate, or to
estimate the area now occupied by its cultivation. I am told that
Mr. Bradbury was first encouraged in his expensive experiments by
the assistance of the late Mr. Simeon Howard, of Troy, whose
ditches he first rented ; — not the Troy of Homer ; yet, by a
somewhat curious coincidence, my son tells me that when serving
on board H.M.S. "Triumph," in Besika Bay, he found luxuriously
growing watercresses, at the Seven Springs, one of the sources
feeding the classical Scamander, — a place often fixed on for re-
freshment, as furnishing the wild watercress, a welcome addition
to the mid-duy meal. Few persons are probably aware of the
amount of labour and skill required in the cultivation of this
simple but highly valued plant. The water must be pure, and
flow from the gravel, or immediately from the chalk, and must
be constant and well regulated. It must be protected from the
ravages of birds, especially the blackbird at certain seasons, and
be the object of unremitting care and supervision during the greater
portion of the year.

Among the other experiments to extend the produce of the
county may be included the growth of hops; this has been done, in
one case at least, with some qualified success. There seems at first
sight to be no reason why, on the deep loams found in certain spots,
the hop should not flourish as well as in parts of Surrey, Sussex,
and Kent. The introduction of a new industry, and especially one
which requires peculiar knowledge and skill, such as the growth and
cultivation of a plant in all its stages, as the hop plant presents
in limine, is not easily surmounted. As the management of the
hop garden is not understood either by the farmer or labourer of
Hertfordshire, and as the sites fitted for the purpose are few and
far between, and as the soil to the north, which by its quality is
most fitted for its production, lacks that natural and artificial
shelter which the hop requires, there seems to be abundant reason
why the experiment of its growth has been so little ventured upon.

48 KEV. J. C. CLTJTTEKBTICK — rEODTJCTS OF HERTFORDSnTRE.

Tlierc is another product in which Hertford sliire seems to excel,
if we may judge by the reputation of the cultivators of roses at
Berkhampstead, Cheshunt, and AValtham Cross. We find that these
places are either on the banks or in the valleys of the Lea and
Gade ; whether these situations are specially favourable to the
cultivation and perfect development of this justly popular and
fragrant flower, or whether mere accident or peculiar convenience
has fixed on these sites, I do not know. Every year makes us ac-
quainted with fresh varieties, and has the happy feature of pro-
longing the season of the presence of the flowers. The commercial
value of the rose is far different from what it was of old, though
as to varieties, I remember seeing a rosery of, I think, 400 sorts in
the gardens of Cassiobury, more than sixty years ago. The suc-
cessful cultivation of the rose on either side of the county, and
under corresponding conditions, is not without interest, and could
scarcely be passed over without notice.

There are doubtless other products which have not suggested
themselves to me, and some to which I have done scant justice.
For these and other shortcomings I must plead a long absence from
residence in my native county, though the same excuse cannot be
pleaded for the imperfect account of those 1 have ventured to bring
before you. The chief characteristic of the county is that it has
attractions which make it especially residential ; it has no grand
geological or physical features, no mountains or lakes, no mines,
few lofty chimneys. It has its palatial seats, surrounded with
beautiful and extensive parks, and its villas and humbler cottages
daily springing up, as at Watford ; it is gifted, nay blessed, with a
soil and atmosphere proverbially healthy, refreshing and invigorat-
ing many a hard- worked citizen of London ; a naturally pure source
of water underlies a great portion of its surface, a large volume
of which it parts with by copious springs of unchallenged purity,
to supply a large portion of the ever-increasing population of the
metropolis, which it rivals, and in some sort excels, in that it now
is dignified by a city of its own, bearing a name linked with
the undying memory of the past, and sanctified by the sufferings
and blood of the proto-martyr of Britain.

49

7.— A^myERSAEY ADDRESS.

By tlie Tresident, ALFRED T. BRETT, M.D.

[Delivered at the Annual Meeting, 14th February, 1878.]

Ladies and Gentlemen, —

When you did me the honour to elect me President of this
Society, it gave me great pleasure to find such an expression of
your confidence and of your goodwill. But these feelings of
gratification were mingled with other feelings of a difi'erent
nature. I was difiident of my abilities to do justice to the office,
both from want of time and because I had not hitherto given
special attention to those studies which are usually included
under Natural History, my life being chiefly devoted to the study
of what may be called abnormal or diseased nature. Besides, I
thought that my deficiencies would be more marked, coming after
a President such as my predecessor, a man so well and universally
known in the scientific world, who has presided over many of the
learned and scientific societies in London, and who has lately most
deservedly received the highest honour that Oxford could bestow.
And, moreover, the knowledge of the fact that it would be ex-
pected of me to give an address this evening did not add to my
feeling of joy. Not that I wanted a subject on which to address
you, for if I consulted the Book of Nature, and selected that
volume devoted to the Natural History of Hertfordshire, I should
find many parts unread and some of the pages uncut. How little
do we know of our fresh-water Algae, our fresh-water shells, our
mosses, our lichens, not to mention the worlds revealed by the
microscope. Any of these, or the climate of Watford even, might
have afforded me a topic of investigation.

I shall prefer to occupy the short time allowed me this evening
in making some remarks on Nature generally. I fear you will think
that I take you too much into the regions of speculation and of
theory, and that instead of directing your attention to the marvels
of Astronomy and Physics, I should have taken a humbler flight
and have confined my remarks more to our own county.

In order to facilitate study we adopt what is called the division
of labour, and we have each of us our own pet " ology." But we
must recollect tliat Nature is one and indivisible — she does not
divide herself thus — she forms one unbroken chain.

VOL. II. — FT. II. 4

50 ANNITEESAEY ADDRESS

''"When, one step broken, the whole scale's destroyed;
From Nature's chain, whatever link you strike.
Tenth, or tea thousandth, breaks the chain alike:"

It may be useful sometimes to take a general view of the
universe, and to endeavour to trace where the different natural
sciences interlace with each other, and to find out what general
laws animate and govern the whole. A student of medicine is more
fitted to take this general view of nature than many people, be-
cause he must know a little of so many sciences. His motto should
be, '■'■Homo sum; humani nihil a me alienum puto,^'' — "I am a
man; I sympathise with everything human," for all the sciences
have their focus in man.

The thoughts that I wish to bring before your notice this evening
may be classed iinder the title of " A Sketch of the Plan of Nature."
Theories of the plan of Nature have always been numerous.
Groundless hypotheses regarding the origin of living beings existed
in profusion some two centuries ago. Drelincourt took the trouble
to enumerate no less than 262 ; and Blumenbach quaintly remarks
that doubtless his theory formed the 263rd.

During the last few years discoveries have been made and
theories have been advanced, which, if followed to their legitimate
conclusions, must greatly modify our views regarding the plan and
the laws of nature. I allude to the theories which are included
under the term Darwinism, the laws of the correlation of forces,
the conservation of energy, etc., and to the discovery of that
wonderful and suggestive little instrument, the radiometer.

The Nebular Theory of Laplace is the one which is most
generally accepted as accounting for the present state of the
universe. It supposes that the solar system, and others, once
existed in a state of intense heat, in a nebulous condition or as
matter finely divided, and that this diffuse mass of matter, gradually
cooling, condensed towards its centre and thus formed the sun,
while the planets were formed by the condensation of external
rings. There are several objections to this theory. If the planets
were formed from the same nebulous matter as the sun, they
should resemble him in chemical constitution. Now the sun has
elements in him, as revealed by spectrum analysis, which are not
known to exist in the earth, and some elements exist in the
earth which have not been found in the sun. And again we have
no historical proof that the sun is gradually cooling, and the evi-
dence of Geology is against the supposition ; for we do not find
that the climate of the earth has gradually got colder, but we have
distinct proof of an alternate hot and cold climate. If the sun is

BY THE PEESIDENT. 51

gradually cooling he could never get hot again. One fact seems
to favour the Nebular Theory, which the Germans call the
Kosmic-gas Theory, which is, that the earth seems to get hotter
the further "we descend into the interior ; and it is calculated that
if the heat increases in the same proportion, the interior of the
earth must he molten from heat. I do not think that the interior
of the earth is in a state of fusion from heat, and if it is so, a
different explanation may be given. But supposing that future
investigation should favour the truth of the Kosmic-gas Theory,
it would only be one link in the chain of ci'eation. If the solar
system arose from a state of nebula, it will, according to the theory
I am about to bring forward, again return to that state.

As I shall have to use the words matter and force, it will be
well to explain what I mean by these terms. By matter I mean
whatever I can become acquainted with by means of my five
senses. I can feel this table, I can hear, smell, see, and taste. If
this definition is accepted, it will be seen that matter is divided
into two very distinct classes — firstly, things that can be Aveighed ;
secondly, things that cannot be weighed. I can weigh the table,
but I cannot weigh sound, or light, or thought, or magnetism, or
chemical force, or vital force. Although I believe that the im-
ponderable forces are really material, yet for convenience of lan-
guage we will still call them force or energy, and ponderable
matter simply matter. Only it is well to bear in mind that the
force of light, or heat, or electricity, is, in fact, as real a thing
as a ton of Hertfordshire conglomerate. Matter and force are in-
dispensable to each other ; it is impossible to imagine matter
without force, and it is difficult to imagine force without matter.
Porce is the active part of nature, matter is the passive. Force is
by far the most important of the two, besides, it is much greater
in extent. Matter occupies mere specks in space ; force fills the
immense intervals, and besides this, it penetrates, saturates, and
animates all matter. In order to understand the theory which I
wish to bring before you, it is desirable to bear in mind some of
the laws of matter and force. They both agree in this property —
they are indestructible. But they diifcr in this, that whereas
force is correlative, or one form of force may pass into another
form, yet with ponderable matter it is not so. We cannot change
one element of matter into another. Matter and force, if once set
in motion, must continue in motion for ever. The most important
property of matter and force is that they are always in motion.
Rest does not exist in nature. " Motion is the law of nature ; it
is only rest that is abnormal." Now if matter is endued with

52 ANNIVEESAET ADDRESS

perpetual motion, it pi'obably moves in a circle. I cannot imagine
matter and force moving in straight lines, from the eternity past to
the eternity to come, through infinite space. The plan of nature
probably is perpetual circular motion. Of course it is impossible
for man to construct any machine that can have perpetual motion,
for this reason — part of the force with which the machine is
endowed must escape and be absorbed and used by surrounding
bodies. But taking the universe, where no part of matter or force
can really be lost, perpetual circular motion is not only possible,
but it is the only theory which will account for nature always con-
tinuing the same.

The prevalence of this law is seen whether we examine the
macrocosm or the microcosm. First, we will select some examples
from the greater world or universe, and Astronomy affords some
marked examples. Our moon revolves round our earth, the earth
round the sun. The sun is moving at a rate of not less than
400,000 miles a day. He is thought to be moving round a star
called Alcyone, in the constellation Pleiades. This journey of the
sun would take 22| millions of years ; or, if he is moving round
the group of stars called the Pleiades, his year would be 27^
millions of years. The proportion to our year of this solar year
which I will consider — say 25 millions of years — is not far from a
year to a second. The velocity of the sun in his gigantic orbit is
about 780 millions of miles in a year. Light travels from the sun
to our earth in little more than eight minutes. It would take
nearly 1000 years to reach us from our sun's sun. It is possible
that our sun's sun, Alcyone, with all his attendant planet-suns and
their planets and satellites, may be himself revolving around some
other centre.

As our sun, although he is himself a planet, is the centre of our
system, it is important to have correct notions of him. I must
detain you for a moment while I endeavour to answer the question
"Why does the sun shine?" Sir John Herschel says, after
enumerating various theories which have been advanced, that
there remain only three possible sources of the heat of the sun —
electricity, friction, and vital action. I will not detain you by
enumerating the various theories ; they most of them have this great
defect — they attribute it to a temporary cause. But to my mind
a cause must be found that will account for the sun and also nature
having been the same for a time so long that it is impossible to
conceive it, and that it will continue the same. But supposing we
could account for the sun's force by combustion, or the friction of
meteoric matter, or original heat, yet a still greater difficulty

BY THE PRESIDENT.

53

occurs to account for -vrliat becomes of the immense force sent out
from the sun. Those who have lived in tropical climates, where
meat may be roasted on the rock, may form some idea of the power
of the sun ; and yet our earth only receives one two-thousand-
millionth part of the force of the sun. Then recollect that our
sun is only one among many thousands of suns, and by no means
a large one. The star Sirius would make 200 or 300 of him.

As force is indestructible, what becomes of it? Professor
Tyndall, I think, says that it passes into space and is lost. I
think the Almighty Creator — I speak it with reverence — would not
lose all this force ; and that space, unless infinite, could not
always hold it. It would become so full of force that it would
be dangerous for us to travel through it. It would be as dangerous
as for a man to walk through a powder magazine on lucifer
matches. Judging from what I consider the plan of nature —
namely, perpetual circular motion, I am convinced — and I have
thought so these ten years — that the sun's force must circulate.
Every particle of force that leaves the sun must sooner or later
return to it again. It is not necessary that the force which leaves
the sun should return to it in exactly the same form. It may
leave the sun as light, or heat, or actinic force, and return to it as
electricity, or as magnetism, to be absorbed in the sun's atmo-
sphere, or rather, photosphere, and sent out again as gravitation,
or light, or heat. There is through the solar system, and perhaps
through the universe, a constant circulation of force as perfect and
as uniform as the circulation of gross and ponderable matter.
The sun is supposed to have a repellent as well as an attractive
power. I have not had time to study his action ; but the gaseous
envelope of the sun is doubtless of a very complicated nature ; it
has doubtless many layers ; it has many elements and metals in it ;
and I can conceive it probable that by the meeting of the
electricity of the sun — and he is about a million times larger than
our earth — and the electricity of space, may be formed a sort of
electric light. So that the sun-force having been expelled as light
and heat may travel some distance ; on its way some of it may be
expended in causing motion in the heavenly bodies, giving them
light and heat and life ; and, after a time, the force may return to the
sun as electricity or magnetism, to be absorbed and again sent forth.
There are several facts which favour this theory — namely, the
violent storms in the sun ; the immense velocity of some of the sun
spots and clouds — 35,000 miles in five minutes ; the periodicity of
the sun spots, there being an increase every eleven years ; a
coincidence or relation between storms in the sun and magnetic

54 ANNIYERSAEY ADDEES8

storms on the earth. There is a periodicity in the pointing of the
magnetic needle to the north, for a series of years pointing to the
east of the north, and for another series to the west of the north.
There are also daily magnetic waves on the earth.

If this view is correct — namely, that the sun is only the receiver
and redistributor of force — it must alter our views regarding the sun
and the planets. At one time the sun was considered to be a fixed
star, and the planets were thought to wander round him. But
now he is proved to be himself a planet revolving round some
other sun ; and in the same way I think he may not be the only
source of force, but that all the planets which have a suitable
photosphere may be — in, of course, a less degree — suns ; that is,
they may receive the force from space in one form and redistribute
it in another. I think this is highly probable with regard to the
larger planets, sx rh as Jupiter, and the farther they are from
our sun the more piobable is it that they are suns to their satellites.
And there are some stars the light from which never has and never
will reach us — for from their immense distance their light is
lost in transit. The light which is lost in coming to us probably
becomes converted into some other form of force. When we survey
the heavens and contemplate the number of the stars, we are lost in
wonder; but when we consider that this visible universe is perhaps
only a small part of the creation, that there are probably systems
of stars whose light never can reach us because it will be absorbed
or transmuted before it would reach us, our views of nature are
greatly enlarged.

The uses of the suu-force are manifold. I will point out one
probable use of it. You are doubtless all of you acquainted with
that beautiful little instrument Crookes' radiometer. You know that
a force coming from the sun and even from a small candle will make
this instrument revolve provided the vacuum in which it is placed
is almost as perfect as possible. Now the best vacuum that we
can produce is probably most defective when compared with the
vacuum of space. "When I speak of the vacuum of space, of
course I refer to the absence of ponderable matter, for of course
space must be filled with imponderable matter or force. For if
force extends from the sun to the earth, it must fill interplanetary
space, and if so, interstellar space. Now if the force from a small
candle will make the radiometer revolve, the immense power of
sun-force may, in some way or other, make the heavenly bodies
revolve, being, as they are, in a vacuum. Force may therefore be
the cause of motion and also of gravitation. "When electricity —
a form of force — is made to pass round an iron bar, it converts it

BY THE PEESIDENT. 55

into a magnet for a time, so that it causes it to attract other bodies.
Force passing through all matter may therefore endow it with the
principle that we call gravitation. All experiments made to
explain the essence or cause of gravitation have failed, probably
because we cannot produce any gravitation vacuum, so to speak —
we cannot find any place where gravitation is not in which to
make the experiment. I need not detain you by speaking of the
other forms of force, as heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemical
action, vital action. There are probably also some forms of force
derived from the sun, the nature of which we have not as yet even
conjectured. Whether animal and vegetable life is a combination
of the forms of force or a distinct force, we do not know ; but
whether we regard it as one or the other, we must look for it from
the sun.

Comets have been hitherto regarded as mysterious and eccentric
bodies, but they are so numerous that T cannot help thinking that
they perform an important part in the plan of Nature. They do
not seem to obey the same laws as planets ; some comets are pro-
gressive and some retrograde, and when a comet appears for the
first time you can never predict where it will appear next. What
is a comet ? Sir John Herschel thinks that it must be material,
that is, have ponderable matter, because it reflects light which is
polarised. But if it is material it must have very little matter
in it. I have read that a man might carry the matter of a comet
in his hand. At least the star Sirius was visible through the tail of
a comet some thousands of miles thick, and comets have wandered
among the satellites of Jupiter, and the satellites gave the comets
the cut direct — they never moved out of their course in the least.
Now if the comet had any weight or material importance, the
moons of Jupiter must have taken some notice of it. I therefore
consider that some comets are scarcely if at all material, and if
there are any that cannot be classed under the term of ponderable
matter, they must be classed under the term of imponderable
matter or force. I should consider such comets therefore to be
some form of force ; and to represent the circulation of force
through space, sometimes going to the sun, sometimes from the
sun. I consider that, for the most part, this circulation of force
is quite invisible to us, and that it is only when it catches up and
carries with it some very, very thin nebulous matter, that it
becomes visible to us ; and we then call it a comet. I think that
comets are intimately connected with the circulation of force,
which circulation they may regulate and influence. It would be
an interesting study to investigate how far comets travel before

56 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS

they return. Some comets may only connect and form a bond of
union between our solar system and those solar systems nearest to
it, while other comets may connect constellations of solar systems,
and others again unite constellations into nebula;, and nebulae may
be united to other nebula?. If this is so, we need not wonder that
some comets never return.

I fear that I have detained you too long with examples from the
macrocosm, the greater universe, and I must come down to earth
and iind examples from the microcosm, or lesser world of man.
"With regard to my own body. I have breathed — that is, I have
circulated air — about 500 millions of times in my life. My blood
circulates in about a minute. Through the lungs it circulates five
times as quickly. There are lesser circulations through the liver
and otlicr organs of my body. Nervous force travels in about 110
to 140 feet in a second. There is probably a constant circulation
of nervous force. The now well-known law of reflex action seems
to prove it. The question is often asked, " What is life ?" There
are three organs in the body so important that they are called
"the tripod of life," — the brain, the heart, the lungs. When the
circulation of the blood or of the nervous force is arrested in
either of these organs, death is the result. Life is coincident, and
only compatible with circulation.

The circulation of matter is so tersely recorded by Pope that I
may be excused for quoting him —

" See matter next, with various life endued,
Press to one centre still, the general good.
See dying vegetables life sustain,
See life dissolving vegetate again.
All forms that perish other forms supply,
(By turns we catch the vital breath, and die)
Like bubbles on the sea of matter born,
They rise, they break, and to that sea return."

An instance of the circulation of human matter was brought to
my notice the other day. On November 25th, 1877, I went to
King's Langley church and saw all that was to be seen of the mortal
remains of Edmund of Langley, fifth son of Edward the Third. I
saw some bones of him and of his wife reverently placed in a
wooden box. There was placed in a corner of the church a heap
of dust that had been found in his tomb. Some of the matter
of this dust, I could fancy to myself, alive and circulating on
the trees in the Priory garden, and immortalised by Shakespeare,
or running about the fields of Langley 500 years ago ; and now, if
it had not been for the pious care taken of it, it might again form

BY THE PRESIDENT. 57

the food of plants and then of animals. While contemplating this
scene, this quotation occurred to me —

" Imperial Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away :
Oh ! that that earth which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw."

The same idea is expressed in the words "Dust thou art, and
unto dust shalt thou return."

The vegetable kingdom abounds in instances of the circulation
of matter. I might quote examples ' ' from the cedar of Lebanon
to the hyssop on the wall." I have often seen the circulation of
chlorophyll in the Anacharis Alsinastrum, the American water-
weed, and it forms a most beautiful object when viewed under the
microscope. One great use of the vegetable kingdom seems to be
to promote the circulation of matter. It takes from the mineral
kingdom and builds matter into forms analogous to those found in
the animal kingdom, as starch, sugar, albumen, etc. And then we
have a class of microscopic plants, whose duty it is to reduce
these forms back again to the mineral kingdom, which is effected
by means of the vinous and the acetous fermentations. I allude to
those forms of life, of which the yeast plant and some of the Bacteria
are types, as a most interesting field for study. With regard to
the oak, Dryden says : —

" Three centuries he grows, and three he stays
Supreme in state, and in three more decays."

These words might be applied to man with a little alteration

thus : —

" For thirty years he grows, thirty he stays
Supreme in state ; in thirty more decays."

The circulation of water in the earth is very marked. The sun
causes aqueous vapour to arise ; it forms clouds, and these again
descend on the earth as rain, which finds its way to the sea by
the rivers. Even in the ocean there is a marked circulation of
water. The same takes place in the air. That storms travel in
cyclones or circles is now a well-established fact. The E.ev. James
Clutterbuck informs me that Colonel Capper, of Bushey, was the
first to indicate the circular motion of air in storms. The sus-
pension of water in the air is somewhat remarkable when we con-
sider how much heavier water is than air. Some have thought
that water is sustained by means of electricity. As there is prob-
ably a circulation of electricity between the earth and the sun, it
may account for the water being sustained in the air. If matter is
so placed that it is free to move, it, as it were, spontaneously

58

ANNIVEESAEY ADDRESS

assumes a vortex motion. This may be seen if you inject a
coloured fluid into water ; also if you watch the curling; smoke
from the mouth of a smoker, or the steam from a locomotive steam-
engine.

Geology furnishes many examples of the circulation of matter.
As you drive along the narrow lanes of Hertfordshire after the
roads have been recently repaired, you will see the road-maker throw
some large round stones on one side ; they are smooth and water-
worn, and if you break them you will find they are not composed
of flint but of some rock that must have come from a distance.
They are considered to show the action of ice, and that the period
in which they were transported to Hertfordshire was one of
extreme cold —in fact, a glacial period. At Busliey, a short dis-
tance from "Watford, you will find the clay of the London Basin ;
and in this London Clay, numerous shells, Nautili and others, are
found, which clearly indicate a hot climate. We have therefore
within a short distance indications of a tropical and also of an arctic
climate. We also find in the present day in the Arctic Regions,
fossil remains of a vegetation that could not possibly have grown
in the climate at present existing there. If this only occurred once,
we might suppose that the earth was formerly much hotter than it is
now, and that it is gradually cooling. But we find, in fact, a suc-
cession of hot and of cold climates, and the climate of Watford is
much warmer now than it was when the boulders were brought
here on ice ; and I think that the sun and the earth cannot be
gradually cooling, and may be getting hotter.

I will not detain you by enumerating the numerous theories
which have been advanced to account for the changes of climate in
the same places on the earth. Our late President, Mr. John Evans,
has propounded a theory before the Royal Society, which he has
also brought forward in his address as Pi-esident of the Geological
Society. Several theories that I have heard of to account for
change of climate have this defect — they are occasional and
extraordinary, and might possibly account for one change. But
we have to account for an alternation of hot and of cold periods.
Mr. James Geikie says in his last work, ' The Great Ice Age,'
" All the geological formations, except the Laurentian, have been
considered to yield evidence, more or less satisfactory, of the
foi-mer action of ice." Therefore we have to account for a series
of alternating geological periods of summer and winter on the earth.

When we call the last glacial period the Great Ice Age, we do
not infer that it is any greater than the ice periods which preceded
it, only that, being the last, the evidence of it is more marked.

BY THE PRESIDENT. 59

The marks of former ice action in older formations would of course
be more or less obliterated by age and geological changes. It
seems to me that the solution of the cause of the fact of our earth
having passed through a succession of climates alternately hot and
cold must be sought for in the science of Astronomy. Many
astronomers do not think that the precession of the equinoxes is
enough to account for it. Mr. Croll, in his work ' Climate and
Time,' says tlyit he thinks it is. I think it highly probable,
judging by analogy, that our sun has a climate — that he has not
uniformly the same temperature. Our sun travels round his sun
in a stellar year of about twenty-five millions of years. As our
earth has changes of temperature in its year, so may the sun have
changes of temperature in his year. If our sun's sun is powerful
enough to compel the solar system to I'evolve around him, he may
be powerful enough to influence our sun, and with him the whole
solar system, in other ways. I consider it possible that our sun
may have spring, summer, autumn, and winter in a period of
about twenty-five millions of years, or at least, that he does not
always have the same climate. 1 do not mean to infer that our
sun derives light and heat from his sun, as light and heat, for the
light from Alcyone is very little, and the heat imperceptible ; but
he evidently influences our sun by the force of gravitation, or else
it would not revolve round him. And if he can supply the force
of gravitation, he can supply other forms of force, which may be
utilised by oiu' sun and converted into light and heat. If this
theory is true, we might be able to solve that very interesting
question, the age of the earth. To use a common phrase, "every
schoolboy knows" that if you make a transverse section of an
exogenous tree, as an oak, you will find the wood arranged in a
series of rings or layers. Now each ring of wood represents a
year of growth ; so we have only to count the number of rings
and we have the age of the tree. In a precisely similar manner,
in order to ascertain the age of the earth, we must make a per-
pendicular section of the earth, and count the number of ice ages.
Each ice age may represent a solar winter, that is, a year of
twenty-five millions of years. Suppose we find evidence of 100
glacial periods, we should estimate the age of the earth at about
2,500 millions of years. Of course the calculation is only sugges-
tive or approximate, for the data of my calculation may be incorrect.
Astronomers may find that the sun's year is more, or that it is
less than twenty-five millions of years ; or geologists may find
evidence of more or of less than 100 glacial periods; or the sun
may have two or more cold periods in his year, or he may have

60 ANNIVEKSAKY ADDllESS

only a severe winter, as we do, in a cycle of years. I only wish
to indicate the principle. It would be very interesting for
geologists to study our sun's climate, as revealed in the geological
records of the earth, and not only his winters, but also his summers
— his hot periods. I do not pretend to be a geologist, but when I
see a coal fire I cannot help speculating on the number of sun's
summers that coal has experienced to be changed from a mass of
vegetable fibre to a mass almost mineral in structure ._ I can
imagine one summer of the sun drying up the moisture from the
peaty mass, and others distilling and condensing in nature's
retort those oils which our enterprising American cousins tap
with such profit. The evidence of hot seasons is perhaps less
marked than the evidence of cold seasons, because no boulders are
brought from a distance and left as evidence. Yet I think that
the sun's hot periods may have still left geological evidence of
their existence which may be well worthy of investigation. Last
year Mr. John Evans took us to see the Rough Down chalk-pit at
Boxmoor, and he very particularly pointed out to us some veins of
what is called the Chalk Eoek ; it was strong and much harder and
denser than the other chalk, and I can easily imagine that great
heat might convert it into marble. We may therefore not only
study the age of the earth from its sun's winter, but also from its
summer. If the science of Palaeontology were more perfect, it
would doubtless afford evidence of an alternate series of hot and
cold periods on the earth in the same place, and I think the kind of
animals would be found to correspond with the climate of the sun
and therefore of the earth.

When I spoke of the age of the earth, I should have been more
correct if I had said the age of the crust of the earth, for the age
of the earth and the age of the crust of the earth are quite diiferent.
Tlie age of the crust of the earth, great as it is, must be con-
sidered as ephemeral compared with the age of the earth itself.
Eor instance, if I say I am 50 years old, I do not mean to say that
the atoms of which my body is composed are only 50 years old, or
that if an oak is 500 years old, the carbon of which it is in a
great measure composed is only 500 years old. The matter in my
body may be eternal — at least, it has doubtless animated thousands
of animals and plants before I became seized of it for my temporary
use, and doubtless when I have done with it other animals and
plants will be animated by it. I may illustrate this by mentioning
what is taking place at the present moment in Watford and the
Atlantic. Huxley says, "I have ventured to speak of the Atlantic
mud as modern chalk." Investigations have demonstrated the

BY THE PRESIDENT. 61

existence, at great depths in the ocean, of living animals, in some
cases identical with, in others veiy similar to, those which are
found fossilised in the White Chalk. The Rev. J. C. Clutterhuck
tells me he had some of tlie Atlantic mud given him, brought up
by the Challenger. He analysed it and found it identical in com-
position with the Lower Chalk of Hertfordshire. Now the Glo-
higerina, and other animals which are now making chalk at the
bottom of the Atlantic for future ages, must derive the lime from
the water, and the lime of the ocean is supplied by the lime in the
rivers.

The streams of Hertfordshire take tons of lime daily to the sea
to make chalk. Each cubic foot of water from the river Gade at
Watford, it is calculated, contains 100 grains of chalk. Now
when the Atlantic becomes dry land, which it may do in a few
years — solar years, — the future natives of the Atlantic may specu-
late on the age of their chalk as we do of our chalk, and say how
old it is, little di'eaming that some of the chalk existed previously
as chalk in Hertfordshire, as we do not dream of our chalk having
existed in some previous formation. Most of our geological forma-
tions are sedimentary, and the matter of which they are composed
must have existed before ; and besides this, to each sedimentary
stratum there must have been a dry land stratum which is not
represented. This may be called an ante-period. Therefore if
astronomy and geology combined enable us to estimate the age of
the crust of the earth, they can never give us any evidence of the
age of the matter of which the earth is composed.

I cannot bring forward the doctrine of evolution in proof of my
theory that the plan of nature is perpetual circular motion, be-
cause the doctrines of Darwin are not yet quite accepted ; yet as
they are believed in by some of our most profound thinkers, and
by men most able to form an opinion, I think Darwinism will be
taken for granted in the not very distant future, in the same way
as we now take for granted Newton's theory of gravitation and the
undulatory theory of light. Haeckel says that in the future,
Darwin's statue — he is a member of our Society — will be raised
higher in the temple of fame than that of Newton ; that whereas
Newton introduced order into the world of matter, Darwin has
introduced order into the world of life — a much more difficult
undertaking. Darwinism would only half support my theory, for
if the higher animals are evolved from the lower, it would only
account for half a circle. To accord with my theory, we must
suppose that there is not only a doctrine of evolution, but that
there is also, if I may coin a word, a doctrine of devolution — not

62 ANNIVEESART ADDKESS BY THE PRESIDENT.

only that a lower form ascends to a higher, but when the highest
form of an animal is reached to which its anatomical structure
is capable, that after a time it descends to a lower type, again
to ascend so as to make the circle complete. As I cannot think
that matter can travel through infinite space — through eternity —
in a straight line, so I cannot think animals can continue to be
evolved or developed for ever — they must at some time attain per-
fection, and then retrograde. Evolution is not necessarily exalta-
tion. Human affairs seem to travel in a circle, for nations, like
men, have their infancy, childhood, manhood, and old age.

I must now bring my remarks to a conclusion. In a few words I
believe that " In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth;" that is, that He created force and matter, and endowed
force with many wonderful properties, one of the most important
of which properties is that it is the cause of perpetual circular
motion in all matter, and that this law extends through the
animal, the vegetable, and the , mineral kingdoms. Time has
not allowed me to bring forward many instances or arguments in
favour of this theory, and my remarks must appear to you incom-
plete. Most likely I have not told you anything new ; but if I
have put old facts in a new form ; if I have thrown out suggestions
for thought or for investigation ; if I have induced you to con-
template and to study the marvellous works of the great Architect
of the Universe ; and above all, if I have induced you to exclaim,
''How manifold are Thy works, in wisdom hast Thou made them
all ; the earth is full of Thy riches," I shall be satisfied.

63

8. — On British Butterflies.

By the Rev. C. M. Perkins, M.A.
[Read 14th March, 1878.]

I HAVE been requested more tlian once by our Secretary to
prepare some paper on the subject of Entomology to read before
this Society ; but I have hitherto refrained, for the reason that I
feel my own knowledge to be so slight that I have little hope
either of saying anything that is not already known, or even of
putting in an interesting form to the majority of my audience the
little knowledge that I may possess. Had I been able to give this
subject the time I had hoped when I first joined this Society,
I should no doubt have been able to give you a far fuller list of
places where the various lepidopterous insects might be found in
this county ; but unfortunately, though my love for this branch of
science has not at all waned with time, yet I find years as they go
on leave me less opportunity of indulging my fancy and gratifying
my desires in this respect. I shall therefore first ask the indul-
gence of the more learned on the ground that I reluctantly read
this paper before them, while I shall be pleased if I can add one
iota of knowledge or implant any love for this engaging science
in any of our younger friends.

From the wide range of Entomology I have chosen the " British
Butterflies " as my subject this evening, and will speak briefly of
each species with the view principally of pointing out, to the as
yet inexperienced collector, their favourite haunts, and indicating
localities in this neighbourhood where I have met with them.

But, firstly, let me say that butterflies belong to the order of
insects called Lepidoptera, that they receive this title (which is
framed from two Greek words, meaning scales and wings) from the
fact that their wing-frames are covered with scales fitting over
each other, as the tiles of a roof ; and these scales, which amount in
number to hundreds of thousands on every butterfly, impart to it
that striking beauty which captivates alike the eye of youth and
age, for the very infant will stretch out his tiny hands to possess
it, and the adult, who is ever seeking out the beautiful, not
unfrequently places it in the foreground of some splendid work of
art which he copies from nature. Further, amongst the Lepidoptera
the butterfly belongs to that sub-division termed in science Bhopa-
locera, another compound Greek word meaning club-horned, because
one of the principal distinctions between the butterfly and moth
is the little knob which may be noticed at the tip of the antennae
or horns of the former.

Many people imagine that the number of species of butterflies
in Great Britain is great ; but this is an error, which arises from
the fact of their mistaking a number of the brighter moths which
fly by day for them, for, while the species of moths approach
nearly 2,000, the butterflies on this island do not amount to

64 REV. C. M. PEEKINS BRITISH BUTTERFLIES.

seventy. Mr. Stainton, whose classification I shall follow, reckons
their number at 66, while some other eminent entomologists make
the number rather greater by inserting one or two species which
may have been found by accident, perhaps brought over from the
Continent in the pupa state with some botanical specimen, or by
counting as separate species certain varieties of species which are
not unfrequently taken.

I feel it can hardly be necessary to say that the butterfly is not
the only form in which the insect so named exists, for this fact is
generally learnt at a very early age, through the not uncommon
practice of allowing our children to rear silkworms, and it is quite
necessary to the accurate knowledge of Lepidoptera to study the
insect in all its phases. It may seem to some hardly credible,
but the future butterfly may be known from the tiny egg more
certainly than many of our birds by the same means, for the egg
of the insect has far greater distinctions, taking the most wonder-
ful forms and appearances, and no more beautiful objects can be
found for the microscope than several of the butterflies' eggs. But
to know them in the larva or caterpillar state is still more necessary,
for by this chiefly we classify them, which we cannot do from their
eggs, for two butterflies closely allied will differ very materially in
the egg state. Again, the pupa or chrysalis state is also well
worthy of notice, and it is most curious to observe how the whole
of one family will invariably suspend themselves by the tail,
hanging head doAvnwards, thus to remain till the butterfly emerges ;
and how another, in addition to the fastening at the tail, will tie
a silken cord round the body, and thus suspend and support
themselves in an opposite direction, viz. head uppermost to a twig
or wall ; and how a third will invariably bury or cover themselves
up in a leaf, or hide beneath the bark of a tree, thus concealing
themselves from view.

The 66 butterflies are classed under flve families, respectively
termed in science, Papilionida^, Nymphalidce, Erycinidte, Lycsenida?,
and Hesperidfe.

The Papilionidfe are readily distinguished fi'om the other
families in the larva state by being vermiform or worm-shaped,
and in the perfect or butterfly state they have a ground colour of
their own, varying from white to brilliant saffron yellow. Many
of this family are well known even to the unobservant, for it is
next to impossible not to notice in the first bright days of the year,
long before the leaves come out and nature generally revives, the
beautiful primrose-coloured butterfly flitting down some woodland
path or along some sunny railway bank, or perhaps across our
garden, where we would fain have it stop that we might feast our
eyes a little space, but on it goes and seldom seems to rest in these
early days ; and then tell me which of you in your younger days
has not chased the cabbage white about the garden, much to the
detriment of your hat, particularly if it happened to be made of
straw. I should be sorry, if I knew the number, to confess how
many I have spoilt, but of this one thing I am certain, that had

EEV. C. M. PEEKINS BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 65

my love of sport in these early days, which gradually developed
into a love of science, not exceeded the fear of being' scolded, my
chance of ever writing a paper on the subject of butterflies had
been vciy slight indeed Most of this first family are very strong
on the wing, and require some exertion in catching, and many a
hard straight-ahead chase have I had after the clouded yellow,
generally to be beaten in the long run — but I must not describe
my chases, or I shall soon weary you with the length of them ;
but rather, as I proposed, will now give you some account of each
of our British species.

Of this family I must take Vapilio Machaon first, a truly superb
insect, having rich black, blue, and red markings on a cream yellow
ground, with two long pointed spikes projecting from the lower
wings, whence we give it in English the name of swallow-tail.
This insect in its natural freedom I have not known, but have
bred specimens sent me from the fens of Cambridgeshire, which
are its natural haunts. Though said to be common in the fenny
districts, where its food plant, Peucedannm ixdmtre, grows luxu-
riantly, and reported to be taken not unfrequently in jjlaces near
which are no large fens, I think it very unlikely we shall ever
meet with it, unless we make a trip on purpose to its feeding
grounds. So strong on the wing is this insect, that I have been
told it not unfrecjuently soars like the lark to a very considerable
height, and this in my opinion may well account for the specimens
reported to be taken in strange localities, for with its own natural
strength, aided too by wings more powerful than its own, it may
be borne away with a sudden gale in its heavenward flight many a
long mile from its native home. Next in order comes the sulphur
or brimstone butterfly already alluded to, Gonepteryx Rliamni ;
common wherever I have been through the southern counties, and
abundant in this neighbourhood, both in spring and autumn, I
shall at once dismiss it, only remarking further that I believe I
have seen it flying every month through the year. Colias Edusa, the
clouded yellow, follows, — a glorious insect, having a rich broad band
of black to its safl'ron wings ; more often seen than caught ; indeed,
you may congratulate yourself if you net it, unless you happen
to meet with it in a field of blossoming clover. And while speaking
of this insect I will mention a phenomenon which I believe has
never yet been satisfactorily explained, which is, that some butter-
flies appear in certain years by thousands in places where, for many
years preceding, and the year or years immediately following
this profusion, not one has been observed. I collected butterflies
in the neighbourhood of Wotton-imder-Edge, a town in Gloucester-
shire, for some dozen years before 1858, and I knew an old
collector there, who had collected for very many years before
I began, yet neither of us had ever seen there one single specimen
of the clouded yellow, until 1858, when they showed themselves
in hundreds on all sides of the town, and enabled us to obtain
plenty for ourselves and more to give away. Last year the same
phenomenon occurred again. Their name might be legion, yet in

VOL. II. — PT. II. 5

66 KEY. C. M. PEKKIXS — BEITISH BUTTERFLIES.

the mean time — 19 years — I do not think I have seen a single
specimen, tliough I have visited the locality every intervening
season. They were quite as common here ; instead of supplying
a cabinet, one might have filled a small basket, and not a few of
the scarcer variety, Helice, were among them. Let not the new
collector despair then if he fails to catch this insect his first year
or so, for some day after waiting he may expect to catch as many
as he pleases. Somewhat like, but a little smaller and of a paler
colour, and, in my experience, far rarer, is Colias Hyale, the pale
clouded yellow. My second son caught one in the playground
adjoining my school, in October, 1875, and I have seen one or two
other specimens taken near St. Albans, and so I doubt not but that
every one who seeks it' in clover or lucerne fields in the autumn, in
this neighbourhood, would find it, if not in his first year, yet
early in his entomological life. The next species will be Aporia
Cratcegi, the black-veined white, easily distinguished from the
other whites by being semi-transparent and showing distinct black
veins upon the upper side of the wings. This I have only taken
once, in Dean Forest; but as its food plant, the hawthorn, is so
common, and it appears to be a widespread insect, I cannot be sur-
prised if others more fortunate than myself have proved it a native
of this county. For some unknown cause it seems to be dis-
appearing from many places where it was formerly abundant,
wliich certainly cannot be laid to the destruction of its food plant,
as is the case with some of our Lepidoptera.

Of the next three butterflies — Pieris Brassica;, the large cabbage
white ; Pieris Rapce, the small white ; and Pieris Napi, the gxeen-
veiued white — I shall say nothing, as they are so well known and
only too abundant in every garden, ever causing trouble to the lady
with her bed of mignonette, or to the cook in the dressing of her
vegetables ; but will pass on to Pieris Baplidice, the Bath white.
This is the first great rarity, and fortunate is the person who takes
one on English soil, for while a shilling will purchase a Con-
tinental one, you may bid at a sale a sovereign in vain for a proved
British specimen. A few, beyond question, have been taken in
this country, but great doubt exists whether they were raised from
the egg laid on English soil, or have been blown across the Channel
from the coast of France, where they abound. In 1855, I was
spending a short time in Normandy, and in visiting an old Roman
camp a short distance out of the town of Dieppe, I saw them flying
in hundreds over the rough long grass, and without difliculty'
secured half a dozen good specimens, but having no entomological
apparatus with me, unfortunately I spoilt them all before reaching
home. I can give you no clue for obtaining this insect except to
keep your eyes well open when visiting the south coast, and even
then I fear you will be disappointed if you expect to catch it. The
next in order is Anthocharis Cardamines, the orange-tip. This you
will be sure of meeting with every spring, flitting up and down the
hedgerows in our lanes and fields at a tolerably brisk pace, and
dodging about so that you may strike once and again before you

EEV. C. M. PEKKINS BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 67

net it. And here one caution for beginners, for often has it been
announced in the Natural Histoiy periodicals by the tyro that he
has taken Daplidice, and doubtless his heart has swollen with
delight at obtaining this prize, coveted, he knows by thousands,
and with confidence he sends it to be inspected by some veteran
entomologist, when lo ! to his mortification, it is returned and
labelled, not Baplidice but Cardamines (female) ; for this modest
little lady throws aside the gaudy yellow tunic her gay husband
wears, and shows upon the upper wings but a plain white dress
quietly trimmed with black, though she has a beautiful under
petticoat of speckled green. Look well at specimens then before
you proclaim the capture of a Bath white, lest you display with it
your own ignorance, by the exhibition only of the female orange-
tip. The last of this family is Leucuphasia Sinapis, the wood
white, a very delicate little butterfly with attenuated body, flying
much more gently than the rest, and looking like an invalid.
Resembling somewhat the female orange-tip, it may yet be at once
distinguished, for it lacks the delicate green pencilling on the under-
side, as well as a black central spot on the upper wing which the
former possesses. I have found it in the woods in different parts of
Gloucestershire the first and second week in August, always in
the more entangled part, threading its way through very slowly,
so that it is easy to capture if you can only keep your net from
catching in the trees. I think it should be found here, as its food
plant is abundant, but cannot remember having seen it.

This brings me to the second family, the Nymphalidae. These
may be distinguished at once from the others by having only four
legs in place of six, at least only four worthy the name and which
they use for walking, the other two being only partially developed.
Many of these are as well known as some I have noted as common
in the first family, for I am sure every one must know the peacock,
the red admiral, and the common tortoiseshell, and must have often
admired them basking in the sun on some low flower or the bare
ground ; but I will take them in order as before, that you may
know where to look for them should you require to cultivate their
acquaintance more closely. Following Mr. IStainton's list, we have
first Arge Galathea, the marbled white, a very striking and pretty
insect, its wings having a creamy yellow ground, marbled over with
about an equal quantity of black. You must look for it on high
ground. T have found it very abundant high up on the slopes
and tops of the Cotswold Hills, but can only record one specimen
in this county, which I saw two years ago flying across the
playground of the Orphan Asylum in this town. The next two
species are universally common ; they are named respectively Lasiom-
mata ^geria, the speckled wood, and Lasiommaia Megara, the
wall, the former a rich dark brown (when taken in good con-
dition) with several yellowish spots both in the upper and
lower wings, eight of which inclose as many black ones with white
again inside. This insect loves to sport in damp and shady places,
such as overgrown paths in woods, and narrow deep-cut lanes.

68 EEV. C. M. PERKINS — BRITISH BUTTERFLIES.

The second is the very opposite in habit, and you may see it in
advanced spring, and again in autumn, sunning itself upon a
scorching wall, or flying deftly along any warm bank skirting
a dusty road. Its colour is tawny fulvous, pencilled over with
dark brown wavy bands. Hipparchia Semele, the grayling, is my
next, a rather larger insect, somewhat similar in colour to the
last, but not so bright, and the markings difPerent enough to
distinguish at the first glance, though not so easy briefly to
describe. This insect loves the sides of high, steep hills where
loose stones abound, which makes its pursuit extremely difficult.
I am told it may be taken on the Harpenden road, near Childwick.
I have not seen it there myself, but I have found it in August
in most places Avhere I have been on high, rough slopes of hills.
Its congener, Hipparchia Janira, the meadow brown, I shall dismiss
at once, only saying it is that rather dull brown butterfly which
swarms over every hayfield. Hipparchia Tithomis, the gatekeeper,
is likewise a common insect, somewhat smaller and a good deal
brighter than the last, yet bearing a great family resemblance.
It may be seen in August along every dusty roadside, skipping up
and down over the brambles, and evidently thinking the taller the
hedge the more delightful it is. Hipparchia Hyperanthus, the
ringlet, a very dark brown, approaching black, with underside of
lighter shade, on which may be seen some exceedingly .pretty
white-centred black spots in yellow rings round the hind margin,
is not uncommon in woods at midsummer, and may be obtained in
this neighbourhood. Then we come to some northern insects,
Erflia Blandina, the northern brown, and Erehia Cassiope, the
small ringlet, which we are not likely to meet with here, so I shall
only say that whoever wants to catch them with his own hands
should not forget, if he visits the Lake District between the end of
June and beginning of August, to take his net and look for
them half way up the hills there, and he will most likely secure
them both. The next on my list, Canonympha Bams, the
marsh ringlet, is also a northern species, which frequents mossy
bogs, plentiful generally wherever it occurs, and may be taken in
the Lake District about the same time as the last-mentioned
insects. The colour is buff" in the females, but the males are
darker and very similar to, though larger than, my next, C(sno-
nympha Pamphilus, which is common on every heath, and may be
caught plentifully upon the green near Bricket Wood station all
through the summer months.

AVe now come to some glorious insects, larger in size and
brighter in colour than those lately noticed, every one of which
the collector is eager to catch, as they make a great show in his
cabinet. Limenitis Syhilla, the white admiral, said to be the
most graceful in flight of all, is found in many woods in the south,
feeding in the larva state upon honeysuckle. Many a mile have
I walked with the hope of catching this on the wing, and many
a honeysuckle have I searched iu woods where I think it ought
to be, for the green caterpillar with rust-coloured spines, but in

REV. C. M. PEEKIXS — BMTISH BUTTERFLIES. 69

vain. My eyes have never yet been gladdened with the sight
of it alive, and I have to content myself with admiring two
specimens which were given me. These were caught, I believe,
in Essex, and I should not be surprised to hear that this county
also produces it. Apatura Iris, the purple emperor, comes next
in order, and with most collectors first in esteem of all the butter-
flies. The beautiful purple with which his majesty is clothed
delights the eye and makes him a deserved favourite. But few
who are not entomologists know him while alive, for he is not
one to intrude himself upon the eye like the gaudy peacock, which
seems to delight in flaunting the large purple eyes in its wings
before you on any low flower, but you must look aloft for his royal
highness, and only then in the secluded park or dense forest.
Here on some isolated oak he sets his throne, on the very top, ever
and anon dashing with bold flight into the air above, it may be
to engage in fierce contest with some brother emperor, who has
ventured too near to his domains, perhaps to woo some lady fair he
wishes to make his empress. You may see him thus by searching
for him, but how to catch him is another thing. No net will
reach him, and you may wait and wait for hours, yet he won't
come down to give you a chance of netting him. What is to be
done ? You can see at a glance, even could you climb the tree,
you would have little chance of netting him, he settles in such
awkward places on the foliage right outside. Some persons tell us
that when you have discov^^red his whereabouts, you sliould carry
there the nastiest thing that you can find, say some filthy carrion,
and place it near his seat, for that he will demean himself so far as
to make this the object of his depraved taste, and thus lowering
himself he is easily captured. This rests on good authority, but
I have never tried it myself, so cannot say that it is a certain
plan. It may have succeeded once or twice, but possibly may not
always. Another plan, and likely to be successful, is to search
the sallows well in the neighbourhood of his haunts, and look for
the green larvae with yellow stripes, and thus rear him in confine-
nient. The only place I have yet taken him is in the Forest of
Dean, where he was far from common in my experience, but as
several contiguous counties to our own are said to produce him, we
ought, I think, to find him here.

I pass on to Cynthia Cardui, the painted lady, with which most
of you must be familiar. Ought I to say I am sorry that painted
ladies are so common as they are, and join my voice with those who
would condemn Madame llachel and Co. in their art of beautifying ?
Be that as it may, you will find them in almost every cornfield of
this neighbourhood in spring and autumn, swiftly flying up and
down that path which may lead you through, alighting every
few minutes on or near the same spot. Very wary is my lady,
and hard indeed to catch ; but wait for her return after you
have struck at her in vain, perhaps a dozen times, and most
likely in the end your patience will be rewarded. It is little
use giving chase to her, for she is as fleet as the wind itself.

70 -REV. C. U. PERKINS — BRITISn BUTTEIIFLIES.

Vanessa Ainlanta, the red admiral, is the next, one of my
favourites, for its bohlness and familiarity. Though strong on
the wing as any, it is easily caught, for it sits upon the leaf or
trunk of the tree where it has just settled in the sun with such
confidence that you may often place your net close against it
without disturbing it. I remember well one once flying on my
hand and basking there as I held it in the sun for a considerable
time, and though I blew it off several times, it retiirned again and
again. I need not describe its colour, for it is so common that it is
well known ; so now to its congener, Vanessa lo, the peacock, of
which I shall only say that you cannot fail to see it every season,
and it will be your own fault, should you require it, if you do not
get it. And this brings me to a very beautiful insect of far rarer
occurrence amongst us, Vanessa Antiopa, the Camberwell beauty, of
large size, having chocolate-coloured wings with purple blushing
through, and edged with a broad creamy white band This insect,
as I have said of Col/as JEdusa, is very irregular in its appearance,
some years being almost common and putting in an appearance far
and wide. In 1789 and 1790 it was seen in great numbers
together in Surrey. In 1820 it is reported of it that great
numbers strewed the shore at Seaton Carew, in Durham, alive and
dead, from which time till 1858 it has never been observed in any
number, but in the last-mentioned year I find in my own notes that
it was captured in considerable quantities again. It may be inter-
esting to some to know that Mr. Humphreys, an admirable autho-
rity, saw unmistakably a specimen of this insect on the road between
this town and St. Albans on the r2th September, 1855, but through
want of apparatus and the impatience of a travelling companion, he
failed to catch it. Vanessa polycliloros and Vanessa Urticce, the
great and little tortoise-shells, are much alike, — the smaller one
common everywhere, the larger not uncommon in tbis neighbour-
hood, should both be readily obtained. If you know of any elm
trees which overhang a wall or wooden paling, you may almost
invariably find the chrysalis of the larger one suspended to the
coping by the tail, about midsummer, which is the best way of
obtaining fine specimens ; but be careful how you pull it off, for
the silken threads which suspend it are so strong, that the pupa is
often injured by the act, unless very carefully performed. Grapta
C. album, the comma, I now arrive at. It derives its name from a.
silver C-like mark upon the underside of the lower wings. The
wings of this insect are peculiar for their deep irregular indenta-
tions, which to the inexperienced eye give it a ragged appearance,
until more closely observed. This insect is sufficientlv common in
Gloucestershire, on either side of the Severn, and I found a
favourite resting-place, some hexagon netting with which we used
to protect our wall fruit. This against a west wall on a fine after-
noon in July would almost always produce a specimen, if required.
I have never seen it here, but report says it used to be very common
round London, so it is not, I think, altogether vain to expect it at
this short distance from our overgrown metropolis.

EEV. C. ir. PERKINS — BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 71

"We come now to the Fritillarics, a goodly company of nine, very
showy insects of rich fulvous colour, beautifully spotted and marked
■with black. These are all almost more beautiful on the underside,
some having bright silvery spots to heighten their splendour, and
in those species where the silver is absent, the blending of colours
on a pale straw ground is even yet more beuutiful. Argynnis
Faphia, the silver- washed fritillary, the largest, is common in most
woods in the southern counties, and may be found in July flying
with good speed over those parts which have recently been cut
down Argynnis Adippe, the high brown fritillary, may often be
caught at the same time and place, but it is not quite so common,
and makes its first appearance a week or so earlier, and disappears
much sooner. Argynnis Aglaia, the dark green fritillary, is so like the
last that it can only be distinguished by some slight markings on
the underside. Yet it is different in habit, and you must not look
for this inside the woods, but on hills outside, where from its rapid
flight, and there being no impediments, it will give you active
employment to catch a dozen even where it is most abundant.
Paphia, I am told, is common in woods near St. Albans, but I am
sorry to say I can give no certain information about the two others
occurring in these parts, as I have never been in this county when
they should be flying, but I have no doubt they may all be obtained
at the proper season, within a few miles of this town. A fine
race I had this summer over Breakheart Hill, near Dursley, in
getting some specimens of Aglaia for my children : a hill, wliose
sides are excessively steep, and which gained its name, so tradition
says, from a man who, in endeavouring to win a bet that he would
carry a chain to which a link was added at every step he took, fell
dead of a broken heart before he reached the top. Argynnis
Lathonia, the Queen of Spain fritillary, is another great rarity. It
has been taken in woods, and lanes near woods, in the South of
England, nearly every year, but I think few people have captured
it otherwise than singly. It is rather smaller than the three before
mentioned, and is at once distinguished by the larger and brighter
silver spots. Kent appears to be its favourite county, and September
its favourite month. Then next in order are the two pearl-bordered
fritillaries, Argynnis Selene and Eicphrosyne, which may be taken
in our neighbouring woods in the months of May and June, Sele^ie
being a little later in appearing and disappearing than its congener.
It is astonishing how suddenly these go to bed, and disappear
temporarily with the sunshine. These last six are all bedecked
with silver spots on the underwings, which serve to distinguish
them from the next three, the names of which are : Ilelitcea Cinxia,
the Granville fritillary, abundant in the Isle of Wight, but rarely
found elsewhere ; Mclitaa Athalia, the h(^ath, is met with in woods
on either side of our county, in Essex and Buckinghamshire, and
so I hope between, but I can give no locality ; and 3Ielif(ea Arfemis,
the greasy fritillary, about the same time, flying heavily over damp
meadows, is much more common in the same counties. With these
I finish the second family, only adding that several of these fritil-

72

KEY. C. M. PERKINS BRITISU I3UTTEKFLIES.

laries, which ubouud wherever they do occur at all, confine them-
selves to a small spot of ground, so that, while one person may
collect a hundred in a sinf!,le wood, another may miss the spot and
Avalk for hours, perhaps within a short distance of their haunt, and
never catch a single specimen. I have done so in seeking Artemis^
which a neighbour of mine, who refused to disclose his hunting
ground, though he would readily give away specimens, could take
by hundreds.

Of the third family, Erycinida^, but one species honours our
country, or even Europe, so it will not detain us long. In this
family the males resemble the last in having only four good legs,
though the females possess the full complement of six. The larvae
are onisciform, i.e. of the shape of the woodlouso. The sole repre-
sentative, Ncmeohms Liicina, the Duke of Burgundy, in the butterfly
state is very similar to the true fritillaries we have just been con-
sidering, though in size very far inferior. It is early in appearance,
and may be looked for in woods after the first week of May
wherever any open space allows a brilliant sunshine. I have not
caught it in this county yet, but found it common in Gloucester-
shire and Oxfordshire, and hear that it may be secured on Berk-
hampstead Common.

And so to the fourth family, the Lycfcnidse, which, like the last,
are onisciform in the larva state, but males and females alike have
six perfect legs. Of Thecla Betulce, the bi'own hairstreak, the first
in order, 1 can say little from my own knowledge, having only seen
it once alive, and that in Gloucestershire, but it seems to occur in
most of the southern and midland counties, and to be common in
Epping Forest, so we may reasonably expect to see it here. It is a
good-sized insect of a dark brown colour, with more or less yellow
on its fore-wings, varying with its sex, and two or three spots of
the same colour at the bottom of the lower wings. August is its
time for flying, and tall hedgerows the best place to look for it.
Thecla Pnmi, the dark hairstreak, is a smaller insect much
resembling the male of the latter. It is far more uncommon,
appearing earlier in the year, and hardly ever taken out of the
county of Huntingdon. Thecla W. alium, the black hairstreak,
so like the preceding that for some time they were not recog-
nised as separate species, is a little darker in colour on the upper
side, and may be distinguished by the underside having a zigzag
white line forming a W near the anal angle. I have taken this insect
in Gloucestershire, just outside Dean Forest, in gardens and sheltered
valleys, but never more than one at a time, so that I think it must
be rare there. July is the proper month to find it flying, and as
it has been taken in counties contiguous to this, it is not improbable
that Hertfordshire produces it as well. Thecla Quercus, the
purple hairstreak, so named from a purple blush overspreading the
dai-k pround colour of its wings, much plainer in the female, and
confined to a dash in the fore-wings, is a common butterfly, and
may be seen, if not caught, in Bricket Wood any sunny day at the
beginning of August. It is a high flyer, and therefore hard to

EEV. C, 11. PERKIIfS — BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 73

catch, but by waiting in some portion of the wood wbicb has been
lately cut down, near some taller oaks from which it will occasion-
ally descend, you will seldom have to go away unrewarded. Thecla
Euli, the green hairstreak, is the commonest of all this class. It
is of a brown colour inclining to olive on the upper side and a rich
green beneath. This you should not fail to find on the outskirts of
Bricket Wood at the end of May, though from its colour resembling
the foliage on which it settles it often escapes observation. Ccbho-
nympJia Plilceas, the small copper, next on the list, is very common
here. Look on any rough piece of ground (an unused quarry, where
wild flowers are suffered to grow unmolested, is a very favourite
place for this and many of this family), and you can scarcely fail
to find it. The more open paths through Bricket Wood will supply
your collection any bright, sun shining clay in August. CcBuonymplm
dispar, the large copper, seems to be no longer known in the
British Isles, though still retained on the list. A lady friend of
mine has a goodly number, which her son (now dead) caught in
Cambridgeshire some 40 years ago, and with the exception of this
gentleman I know of no other I have spoken with who has seen
this insect flying. The latest capture I have seen recorded was
in the county of Huntingdon about 30 years ago. Ccenonijmpha
Chryseis is the next, of which I shall only say that much doubt
exists whether it should be reputed a British insect at all.

We will pass on, therefore, to the sub-family of blues. Polyom-
matus Aryiolus, the azure blue, feeds in the caterpillar state upon
blossoms of holly, and if the number of insects was at all pro-
portionate to the quantity of its food, this insect should be far
more common here than in Gloucestershire, where I used to see it
in great numbers early and late every season ; but here I have but
seldom met with it. Laurel I have found to be its favourite
resting-place, and I suspect the larva often feeds on the blossoms
of this shrub. The female is distinguished by a broad black
band on the margin of the fore-wings. Poh/ommalus Alsus, the
Bedford blue, is our smallest butterfly, ancl only faintly shows
blue over its dull brown dress. I think it is an insect more
common than collectors give it credit for, but it is decidedly local
and not very quickly observed. I have found it in sheltered
places on the Oolite in Gloucestershire in the month of June,
settling more often on brambles than on anything else. I am sorry
I cannot give any information concerning it in this county.
Pohjommahis Acis, the mazarine blue, is a rare butterfly, and
seems to be disappearing from places where it was once common.
It is found in meadows in a few of the midland counties, and
used to be taken on my old hunting ground in Gloucestershire,
Specimens taken there are still preserved, but I have never had the
good fortune to meet with it, and know of no capture there in
recent years, though in the neighbourhood of Cheltenham, some
twenty miles away, it is still taken. Polyommatus Arion, the large
blue, is another rarity. The same cabinet alluded to in my last
contains specimens of this insect also, taken near the same place,

74

EEV. C. M. PERKINS — BRITISH BUTTERFLIES.

and I find Buckingliamsliire and Bedfordshire both produce it, and
as it is a lover of a chalk soil, it is not unlikely tliat those who
search for it in the end of July on high broken ground may be
successful in finding it here. Puhjommatus Corydun, a pretty
silvery blue, I have found very common at the end of July and
beginning of August on chalk hills. It was flying last year in
such profusion upon the hills in Gloucestershire that it would not
have required the least exertion to catch a hundred in a few
minutes.

FohjommafAis Adonis, the Clifden blue, is the brightest of all the
blues, with a slight silvery sheen over the deep colour. It is
not uncommon on the Southern Coast upon the chalk hills, and
I have taken it now and again upon the Cotswold Hills, but never
in any quantity. About midsummer it flies, and may be dis-
tinguished at a glance through its brilliant colour even while
flying. Pohjommatus Alexis, the common blue, is known to all,
being bright enough to attract attention. It may be observed on
almost every lawn, and requires no looking after. Pohjommatus
^(jon, the silver studded blue, has also a very wide range, and may
be taken in almost every English county in July. Being very like
the common blue in habit and appearance, no doubt it is often
passed over, yet a glance at the underside will show those pretty
silvery blue spots which give it its English name. Pohjommatus
Agestis, though classed with the blues, is a brown insect above,
with a band of orange spots along the margin of its wings, and may
be taken early and late in the season on almost every heath. You
may obtain it flying over the green common near Bricket Wood
station, should you require it. Pohjommatus Artaxerxes, the
Scotch argus, brings this family to a conclusion. It is very like
the last in size and colour, but has a distinct white spot in the
centre of each fore-wing. This we must not expect to find here, as
I believe it has never been met with south of Yorkshire.

So now I turn to the last family, the Hesperida?. These are
easily recognised by the appearance of the head, which is larger, in
proportion to the insect than in the other families, and the antennae
in consequence appear set miich wider apart. As I said some moths
are often mistaken for butterflies, so also have I known people mistake
some of this last family for moths. Their motion through the air
rather conduces to this, for they do not fly with the steady flight
of the rest, but dart rapidly about from flower to flower, and hover
over the blossoms as they extract the nectar, something like the
hawkmoths. From this motion no doubt they receive the English
name of skipper. Thymele Aheohis, the grizzled skipper, is a
little dark brown butterfly with a quantity of white spots on all
its wings. I have taken it on the common near Bricket Wood,
but not abundantly. Stainton says it frequents moist places near
woods, but I have found it far more abundantly on dry hill-sides,
where the grass only thinly covers the loose stones. May, June,
and August it is on the wing, and as it is easy to capture and of
wide range, it soon falls into the hands of the collector. Thanaos

BET. C. M. PEEKINS — BKITISH BUTTEEFLIES. iO

Tages, the dingy skipper, is a week earlier in appearance than the
last, after which it may often be taken on the same ground till the
second week in June. It is well named, being a dingy brown, and
to my mind is the least interesting of all our butterflies. Steropes
Paniscus, the chequered skipper, is of a rich brown colour,
chequered over with spots of yellow. This I have never seen on
the wing, and believe it has been seldom taken out of the county
of Huntingdon and those adjacent to it. It flies in June. Pam-
phila Act (eon, the Lulworth skipper, is another insect we need not
look for here, for we must visit the coast of Dorset or South
Devon if we wish to make its acquaintance in a living state. It
flies in August, and from all accounts, the quantity where it, does
occur, makes up in some degree for the paucity of localities it
inhabits. Pamphila Linea, the small skipper, I have found common
at midsummer, wherever I have been. The best place to find it is
a marshy spot upon rather high ground, where it frisks about
merrily amongst the reeds, yet I have seen it not unfreqiiently
in woods far from any marsh or water. Pamphila Si/lvanKS, the
large skipper, may be seen here in our lanes and woods in August,
but as far as my observation goes, far more rarely than in any
other county I have visited in the same month. With my next,
Pampliila Comma, the silver-spotted skipper, I reach the end of my
list. Though not nearly so widespread as the two last mentioned,
yet wherever it does occur, there is generally a goodly company.
On heaths in August you should look for it, and if you cannot find
it nearer, you should go to Berkharapstead Common in quest of
it, as it has been taken there. 1 have not mentioned the colour of
the last four, as they are difficult briefly to describe, but they are
all of a fulvous colour, marked with brown ; Actteon being the
smallest and darkest, and Comma being easily distinguishable by
having several square white spots on the underside.

Thus have I spoken briefly, as I proposed, about each species —
far too briefly to describe them at all accurately (fearing to weary
you) — for in many cases a long description would be necessary to
do this, and that twice over, as the sexes are often extremely
diff'ercnt, not in markings merely, but oftentimes in their ground
colour also. My great wish has been rather to give young
collectors hope of success by indicating the nature of the localities
where I myself have found the various species.

Whether this county has been as well worked as others I know
not ; but since my residence here I have never met a person
carrying the net of gauze except on our own field days ; save one
or two of my own pupils who have lately evinced some love for
this science. And it is very remarkable that this county is
scarcely mentioned in such works as Stainton's ' Manual ' and
Newman's ' History of British Butterflies,' which make such
frequent reference to all the contiguous counties. Yet, my own
conviction is, that at least 50 out of the 66 species might be found
here by any active entomologist. Unfortunately my time in June is
too much occupied for taking any long walks, and in July and the

76 EEV. C. M. PERKINS — BRITISH BUTTERFLIES.

first half of August I have found it advisable to recruit my health
some distance away, or I am sure I could have given you much
more home information. I think a record should be kept by every
society of this kind of all the species the neighbourhood affords in
every branch of science, and as soon as possible a museum should
be commenced in connection with it, to which all the members
would doubtless be pleased to contribute as opportunity ofl'ered,
and by means of which such instruction might be afforded as
books alone cannot give.

I fear my paper has been already far too long, yet before closing
I would make yet one remark. It may seem to some that it has too
much encouraged the taking away of life ; but if any have formed
that opinion, I should wish at once to dispel it. I allow I have
taken many, very many lives in pursuing this science ; but I assure
you, I believe I have prolonged the lives of ten times more than I
have taken. As we spy about in search of prey ourselves, we find
vast numbers of our prey in difficulties, caught perhaps in the
snare some natural enemy has set for them, drowning perhaps in the
water, or — what I always think worse — burning in the flame.
These we rescue from a painful and lingering death, while the few
we take we destroy in the most merciful way we can. Were we
to put them to a lingering death or one attended with torture, they
would beat themselves about in their death struggles and not be
worth our preserving. Nor need you think when you see us out
that we necessarily are destroying life. For the hundred we catch
we do not kill one. My pleasure is to go to some old haunt and
find the insect still there whose ancestor I saw perhaps the year
before, perhaps not since a dozen years ago, but I leave them un-
injured to enjoy their gay brief life. In several cases I have not
added one specimen to my collection which I made more than
twenty years ago.

Cruelty to the least of God's creatures I abhor, and would dis-
countenance to the utmost all in the pursuit of this science who
make it their first object to kill all they catch, or even kill with
torture what they want ; but to those who collect with a view to
science, I can heartily wish God speed, knowing well they will
discover in their researches more of the inscrutable power of the
Creator, and by remarking the beauty, the regularity, and more
especially the instinctive impulses which the Almighty has im-
planted in these lower animals, they will be induced to magnify
their Creator more and more, and ascribe to Him that glory and
honour and power of which He verily is worthy, for whose pleasure
they are and were created.

77

9. — J^OTES FOE ObSERYATIOXS OF INJURIOUS InSECTS.

By Eleanor A. Ormerod, F.M.S.

Commuuicated by J. Hopkinson, Hon. Sec.

[Read 9th May, 1878.]

A SERIES of observations in relation to insect ravages on the
crops used as food is much to be desired, not only for scientific
purposes, but also with a view to diminish the yearly losses to the
country. Of these losses, telling heavily year by year both on the
individual growers and the country at large, many would be remedi-
able by more attention being directed to the subject; and many
would probably be found to be so, if reliable information could be
procured as to the ciz'cumstances affecting or coinciding with
them It is with this object that the assistance of their observa-
tions is now begged from Agriculturists and Entomologists, who
practically and scientifically are both interested and can aid
much in the matter, the information obtained to be condensed and
forwarded to the observers in a printed Report.

The points chiefly to be noted are the jiresence of mrroimdings,
such as plants, or shelter, suitable for the food or protection of
the noxious insects ; agricultural conditions, such as the drainage,
the nature of the soil and manures, and that of the preceding
crop on the ground, the amount of weed serving as insect food in
the crop or growing near ; and also the state of the toeather.

It is observable that wet is injurious (generally speaking) to
insects, and that drought, when not too prolonged, is favourable.
How far these various conditions affect the amount of insect appear-
ance is one of the objects sought to be ascertained by the observa-
tions proposed.

The observations on the insects under the head of "general
remarks" should give the date of their appearance as laiwaj ;
numbers, comparatively, to those in previous years ; and also date
and quantity of appearance, and date of disappearance, in the
perfect state, with amount of injury to crop.

These various entries, though looking formidable in description,
would take but a short time to enter on the columned sheet, '^'•' and
would frequently be merely the observation of an ordinarily at-
tentive natui-alist in his daily walks, whilst the information they
would give wcnild be of solid value. Of course any additions to
the list of objects, or additional information beyond the points
noted, would add to the value of the return. It is jJarticularly
requested that observers will use the number and name given in
the list in making their records, and will be good enough, in all the
observations, to use the scientific name of the insect, the use of

* A copy of this sheet will be forwarded to any member on application to the
Honorary Secretary.

78

ELEANOR A. ORMEEOD — NOTES FOE

local ones making many of the returns of former years nearly
valueless for scientific purposes. .

Any requisite information will be furnished on application to the
Rev! T. A. Preston, The Green, Marlborou-h, Wilts ; or to E. A.
Fitch, Esq., Maldon, Essex; to either of whom it is requested the
first specimen of each insect maybe sent for verification, if not
known with certainty.

The insects selected for observation are* —

1 Haltica nemorum. Turnip flea-beetle. Length about an
eighth of an inch ; blackish, with broad yellow stripe down each
wing-case. Feeds on young turnip-leaves. Noticeable by its flea-
like jumps, and generally known as "the fly."

2. Anthomi/ia cepnrum. Onion fly. Larva whitish and footless ;
feeds in the bulb of the onion.

Fig. 1. — Psila Rosm.

3. Psila RoscB. Carrot fly. Commonly known in its effects as
"rust." Larva ochreous in colour, small, and footless; pierces the
roots of carrots and parsnips, causing rust-coloui'ed stains.

Fig. 2. — Mamestra Brassicce.

4. Mamestra £rasstC(B. Cabbage moth. Caterpillar about an
inch and a quarter in length ; greenish or flesh-coloured, with a
black tinge along the back and an oblique line on the back on

* Observations of any other insects would also be desirable, especially of the
grubs of Agrotis segetuin (the turnip moth) and allied species known as surface
caterpillars, and of those whose names are given, noticeable either for their
hurtfulness to the food crops, or special circumstances of weather frequently
being coincident with their appearance.

OBSERVATIONS OF INJURIOUS INSECTS.

79

every segment. Feeds on many green crops, especially piercing
into the hearts of close-headed cabbage. Moth with upper wings
greyish brown, variously streaked with black, slightly with white ;
under-wiugs brown, shading at the base to dirty white.

Fig. 3. — Fieris Brassicce.

5. Pieris Brassicce. Large white butterfly. Catei-pillar green,
or bluish, striped with yellow and dotted with black. Feeds on
expanded cabbage-leaves. Butterfly white, with black tips to the
wings ; the fore-wings with two black spots above in the female,
and beneath in both sexes.

Fig. 4. — Agriotes obscurus.
.Natural size and magnified.

6. Agriotes (obscurus or other species). "Wireworm. Larva long
and narrow, like a piece of flattened wire ; yellow and polished or
leathery. Feeds for several years in the ground on young corn and
most cultivated crops. Distinguishable from other grubs bearing
the name by having three pairs of legs. Beetle about one-third
of an inch in length, narrow, regains its position when laid on
its back with a spring, accompanied by a sharp click.

80

ELEANOR A. ORMEEOD — NOTES FOE

Fig. 5. — TejJhritis Onopordinis*

7. Tephritis Onopordinis. Celery and parsnip fly. Larva whitish
and footless. Burrows between the two sides of the leaf so as to
form large blisters.

Fig. 6. — Athalia spinarnm.

8. Athalia spinarum. Turnip sawfly. Ply four-winged, with
orange and black body. Larva various shades of grey and black.
Commonly known as the turnip nigger or "black jack." Feeds
on turnip -leaves, and is at times excessively destructive.

* The cross lines in this and the thi-ee following figures indicate the natm-al size.

OBSERVATIONS OF INJUEIOUS INSECTS.

81

Fig. 7. — Chlorops tceniopus.

9. Chlorops taeniopus. Small grub causing a clianrLel on the upper
part of corn-stems, and abortion of the ear.

Fig. 8. — Cephus pygmceus,

10. Cephus pygmceus. Small grub inside corn-stalks, gnawing
them nearly through at the ground-level in autumn.

VOL. 11. PT. II. 6

82

ELEANOR A. OEMEROD — NOTES FOR

Fig. 9. — Cecidomyia Tritici.

11. Cecidomyia Tritici. Minute orange grub, occurring in some
numbers in flowers and chaff of wheat, and commonly known as
"red maggot." Very destructive, especially in white wheats.

Fig. 10. — Sirex gigas.

12. Sirex gigas. Pour- winged fly, about an inch and a half
long, colours black and yellow. Larva lives in fir timber.

13. Asilus craibroniformis. Black and orange hairy two-
winged fly, about half an inch long. To be found in cattle-
pastures in hot weather.

OBSEEVATIONS OF INJUEIOUS INSECTS.

83

Fig. 11. — Colias Edusi

14. Colias Edusa. Butterfly with orange wings, banded at the
edges with black. Caterpillar feeds on Leguminous plants.

Fig. 12. — Abraxas grossulariata.

15. Abraxas grossulariata. Currant or magpie moth. Moth
white, blotched with black and yellow. Caterpillar cream-colour,
spotted with black, and with orange spots down the side.

16. Neuroterus lenticular is. Oak-spangle cynips. Causes the
small reddish disks, sometimes found in great numbers on the
back of oak-leaves.

Figures 5 to 10, and Fig, 12, are reproduced from drawings by
Professor Westwood and Mr. Curtis, illustrating their papers on
Entomology in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' by the kind permission
of the Editor, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.E.S.

84

10. — Notes on Economic Entomology.

By Eleanor A. Ormerod, F.M.S.
Communicated by J. Hopkinson, Hon. Sec.
[Read 9th May, 1878.]

Ant additional arguments as to the necessity of horticultural or
agricultural science are at the present day uncalled for ; the im-
portance of a thorough knowledge of the operations which are to
provide primarily, or secondarily, a large portion of the national
food, commending itself to all. But it is not so with the sister
science of Economic Entomology. Although in great part with the
same practical objects in view, the two subjects are popularly on
very different footings, and although, during the last fifty years,
the importance of Economic Entomology has attracted the attention
of our own, as well as of some foreign Governments, and much has
been done (especially by Museum illustration) to show both how
our crops are injured, and how the injury is to be met, yet this is
only a beginning, and to be followed by practical results it still
requires more general attention.

With the necessary increase of food to meet the wants of the
growing population, comes as surely an increase in the insect foes
which feed on the desired crops, and the difficulty still remains in a
great degi'ee as stated by Audouin years ago. The practical
workers who see and feel the effects of the injuries, have neither
the time nor the knowledge requisite to work out the observations
necessary to counteract them, and the scientific, to whom they
refer for aid, though acquainted with the evil, are often un-
acquainted practically with the working effects of the prescribed
remedies, which are necessarily not adapted for the exigencies of
each separate case. Insect agency still needs bringing forward as a
real existence — real as that of the crops yearly falling a prey to it,
to the great loss of the country, as well as of individual growers ;
and to those who have not yet turned their attention to the subject,
a few notes, though only conveying a most imperfect idea of the
great variety of injurious insects, and of the extent of injury con-
stantly or frequently caused by insect attack, may be acceptable.
For this purpose I have availed myself, for the most part, of the
reports given by Curtis, Kollar, and Kirby, also of memoirs in the
'Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society,' and of some of the
excellent papers in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle.'

Beginning with the corn insects, the CMorops (a minute two-
winged fly) sometimes causes much mischief. Its presence in the
crop may be known by the ear being usually unable to free itself
from the sheathing leaves, and by a furrow in the stem from the
base of the ear to the first joint below. A few years ago, in West
Gloucestershire, it was only necessary to look round in a barley
field to see at a glance the attacked heads, and on one occasion I
found them in such numbers in a stack that the insects might be

E. A. OEMEEOD — ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 85

shaken out by scores and hundreds. The Chlorops is given by
Curtis as appearing in 1837 in myriads, in various parts of the
country, and the barley in Lancashire is stated to have been de-
stroyed to a great extent by C. taniopus in 1841.* In 1846 the
barley crops are again noticed by Curtis as stiffering severely from
it in different places in four counties named to the extent of from
half to two-thirds the crop. These insects also attack wheat and
rye. Cephus pygmmis (the corn saw-fly), which attacks the plant
by travelling in the larval state throughout the interior of the stem
previous to sawing it through, or nearly through, at the base, to
facilitate its exit when developed, is numerous in this country ; but
the only returns of injuries to which I have access are the ' Annales
d'Orleans,' and the report of M. Herpin, quoted by Curtis in 'Farm
Insects,' which give them as a sixtieth part of the crop at Metz, but
"much more considerable" in other localities named, and the
appearance of a field attacked by saw-flies is described as seeming to
have been traversed in every direction by sportsmen and animals.

The wheat midge, a small four-winged fly, effecting its injuries
by abortion of the grain, may be found in enormous quantities, in
the larval state, in chaff sweepings, or hovering, just developed,
over old chaff heaps in June. The Cecidomyia Tritici is given in the
excellent article on the subject in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' for
1847, as being mentioned by Kirby as destroying at the end of the
last century about a twentieth part of the crop in one spot ; by
Mr. Gorrie f as causing a loss in the Carse of Gowrie estimated at
not less, in 1829, than £36,000; and by Dr. Asa Fitch,+ as, in
1832, sweeping away the wheat crops completely ; and the enormous
numbers of this insect are given by Professor Henslow in tables §
as amounting to 834,952 pupae and larvffi in seven bushels of bam-
floor chaff and dust, collected from four different localities.

Passing on as briefly as possible with a few of the insects
injurious to field crops generally, the surface caterpillars, which
will probably be remembered as especially injurious a few years
ago, when in some localities turnips were nearly destroyed by them,
are a general evil. Taking only the references to them in Curtis'
' Farm Insects ' (one here and there of many), it is noted that " in
1818, 1826, 1827, and 1836, but few vegetables escaped their
ravages," and that in 1818 "scarcely a good turnip was left by
them." These grubs may be found up to as many as from 12 to 30
at the root of one turnip or mangel wurzel, and in one case noted,
16,000 larvae were picked from eight acres of swedes ; and once in
possession, the catei-pillars from their large size make rapid work.

Wireworms (the long, yellow, hard-skinned larvae of the EJater
or click-beetle) feed during the five years through which (as far as
can be ascertained) their larval state lasts, on grass and corn roots,
turnips, potatoes, cabbage, and almost all our field crops. Twenty

* ' Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society,' vol. v, p. 491.

f ' Encyclopscdia of Agriculture,' 3rd edition, p. 820.

X ' Transactions of the New York Agricultural Society,' vol. xiv, p. 691.

\ ' Journ. Eoyal Agricultural Soc' vol. iii, p. 38.

86 E. A. OEITEEOD — ECOXOHIC EN'TOIIOLOGT.

or thirty may be found in one turnip bulb, and smaller growths are
destroyed by the wireworm simply g-nawing through the root, and
then going on to a fresh plant.* From the larvae remaining in the
infested ground during the long period of feeding, all the successive
crops put in are subjected to their ravages, and (as the case may
be) successively injured or very possibly quite ruined. KoUarf
gives the larvae of Elater Imeatus as " laying waste entire fields ; "
and where wireworms are numerous and unattended to, the mischief
they cause only ceases with the destruction of everything in their
power.

Amongst peas and beans, the pea- weevil clears off whole rows,
and is noted as first taking the peas, later in the year attacking the
beans, and then going on to the clover, and observations of the ex-
tensive and frequently-recurring ravages give it as "eating off the
early peas " — " committing dreadful ravages " — " peas, beans, and
other papilionaceous plants swarming with them," and so on, the
injuries in this case being the destruction of the leaves by the beetle.
The Bruchm granarius lays eggs in the foiTued peas sometimes to
the extent of every pea in the pod, and the black aphis attacks
the tops of the beans. The Silpha opaca, or mangel wurzel beetle,
brought under notice in England in 1844, destroyed the crops in
Ireland, and also in France, successive sowings being sometimes
swept off; X and, to take only a single instance more from the many
insects injurious to stored corn, the Calandra granarta, or granary
weevil, a small beetle which may literally be gathered up in hand-
fuls from beneath the com in neglected granaries, is calculated as
giving a produce of 6045 individuals from a single pair during the
warm part of the year between April and September, and as each
eg^ is deposited in a separate grain, the mischief is simply bound-
less. This affords one of the working examples of what may be
done by attention thoroughly directed to the subject. The yearly
loss to the great holders of grain would be something so serious if
the beetle were not kept under, that its habits have been studied
and the due remedy applied, whilst in small country holdings,
where it is considered quite beneath attention, it may be found
thriving, and I have seen half a wash-hand basinful of the beetles
swept up at once.

Few who remember the thick clouds of Aphides which filled
the air for about thi'ee days a few years ago, will doubt their
immense power of increase given by Eeaumur,§ as 5,904,900,000
in five generations from one Aplm, the damage from them being so
great that in 1810 the pea-crop was injured throughout the country
to the extent of making it difficult to procure the requisite supplies
for the navy, and from the same cause it is stated that the difference
in the amount of the duty on hops is " often as much as £200,000
per annum, more or less, as the fly prevails or the contrary." ||

• ' Transactions of the Entomological Society,' vol. ii, p. 31.

t ' Transactions of the Agricultural Society of Vienna,' vol. v, p. 105.

\ ' Journal of the Eoyal Agricultural Society,' vol. viii, p. 405.

\ ' Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire des Insectes,' vol. vi, p. 566.

II Kirby and Spence, ' Introduction to Entomology,' 1867, p. 100.

E. A. OEMEEOD — ECOXOinC ENTOMOLOGY.

Colorado beetle — Boryphora decemlineafa,
1. Beetle — magnified. 2, 3, and 4. Beetle, larva, and eggs, natural size.

Amongst foreign insects the Colorado beetle, Dorxjphora decern-
lineata, gives us an excellent instance of the effect of circumstances
in spreading or checking an insect pest. We heard nothing of it
till (following the opinion of the late Mr. A. Murray) the gradual
introduction of the potato from the east of America formed as it
"were a bridge on which the beetle, transferring itself from its
normal food plant, the Solanum hirsidum, crossed from its special
home in Xebraska and Iowa to the shores of the Atlantic. The
novelty as well as the importance of the attack raised the popular
energies, and we know on the authority of the agricultural
reports that where the proper remedy was applied, the insect
succumbed; where this was not done, it throve. The viae
Phylloxera is another instance in point. The great importance
of the subject has drawn thorough attention to it, and experiments,
especially on the effect of applications at once beneficial to
vegetation and prejudicial to insect life, are being instituted,
which have a prospect of benefiting us both here and in their
extended application.

Often, whether to field or garden crops, or to our forest trees,
though there is much injury done that we do not at present know
how to guard against, there is also much that the most ordinary
observation and care would prevent, quite independently of any
scientific knowledge, and the great point to be fairly driven into
and kept constantly before the minds of the unscientific is, that the
maggots, cateiijillars, larvae — whatever they may call them — will
certainly go on feeding on the attacked plant till they are ready
for the commencement of the change which, as certainly, unless
preventive means occur, will send them out beetles, moths, or
whatever they may be, to continue their species by scores or
hundreds for every (apparently) insignificant grub. But we want
something more. Take, for instance, the chiysomeledious beetle

oS E. A. OEMEROD — ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.

known as the "mustard-seed beetle" of the Fens. Last year it
did damage estimated in one case at £1000 to a single proprietor,
this year it has been widespread in its attack. Here and
genei-ally we want much more information as to the reasons of
intermittent appearance. "We want observations telling the life
history of the insects, and the circumstances favourable to their
production, or rather, those which accompany and precede their
appearance when in the great numbers in which they are a serious
evil. In some cases the eggs must have lain in the soil (here we
want to know how long their vitality endures, and why they
should have hatched in that particular season), in others the
appearance of the springing crop is the signal for the appearance
also of some special insect to eat it down — where did it lurk the
while, and where will it lay the eggs which are to perpetuate the
race ? "We know a very little about certain insects appearing with
a certain succession of crops, which is one of the points which
needs amplifying in every direction ; and the characteristics of the
particular season, the soil, manure, infected seed sown, infected
fields in the neighbourhood, transportation by wind (sometimes a
very important point), require attention, and thoroughly careful
attention, extending over many years and many districts, before
the requisite information suitable for general use can be obtained.
But we benefit by the labours of those before us, and may well do
our part where we can, and one most important point, in which all
might aid, is in keeping attention alive to the living reality of
insect agency in connection with our most important crops.

The grain of wheat, or the insect that feeds in it, are each,
taken by themselves, of small importance, but in them taken
collectively lies the cause but too often of the full or empty sack,
and the corresponding returns to the owner and to the country at
large.

89

11. — Meteorological Observations taken at Cassiobitey House

FROM JaNTTARY TO APRIL, 1876.

By the Eight Honourable the Earl of Essex.
[Read 9th May, 1878.]

Abstract.*

January. — The mean pressure of the atmosphere was 30"26 ins.
the highest reading, 30-60 ins. on the 15th; the lowest, 29-75 ins.
on the 21st ; range, 0'85 in.

The mean temperature of the air was 31°-8 ; the highest, 46° on
the 1st and 31st; the lowest, 12"" on the 12th; range, 34°: the
mean high day temperature, 37°-2; the mean low night temperature,
26^-5 ; mean daily range, 10°-7. The highest temperature in the
sun was 57° on the 24th.

The direction of the wind was N.E. on 8 days, E. on 6, S.E. on
2, S. on 8, S.^y. on 5, and W. on 2. Easterly winds mostly pre-
vailed to the 18th, then S.W. followed by N.E., and southerly for
the last week.

Rain fell on 6 days, and snow on the 8tli and 18th; the total
amount of rain and melted snow being 0-88 in., and the greatest
fall in one day 0-50 in. (as rain) on the 22nd.

The temperature sank to below freezing-point on 6 nights : 12
days were foggy.

February. — The mean pressure of the atmosphere was 29-84 ins. ;
the highest reading, 30-30 ins. on the 3rd; the lowest, 29-40 ins.
on the 19th; range, 0-90 in.

The mean temperature of the air was 37°-3 ; the highest, 55° on
the 22nd ; the lowest, 16° on the 12th ; range, 39° : the mean high
day temperature, 43°-7 ; the mean low night temperature, 30°-9 ;
mean daily range, 12°-8. The highest temperature in the sun was
67° on the 29th.

The direction of the wind was N.W. on 4 days, N.E. on 6, E.
on 2, S.E. on 2, S. on 1, S.W. on 7, and W. on 7. North-
easterly winds mostly prevailed for the first half of the month, and
south-westerly for the last half.

Eain fell on 13 days, and snow on the 5th, 6th, and 14th, the
total amount of rain and melted snow being 2 15 ins., and the
greatest fall in one day 0-50 in. (as snow) on the 14th.

The temperature sank to below freezing-point on the 13th only.
Fog prevailed on 5 days.

March. — The mean pressure of the atmosphere was 29-60 ins. ;
the highest reading, 30-10 ins. on the 20th; the lowest, 28-80 ins.
on the 12th ; range, 1-30 in.

* This summary of the Earl's daily ohservations is in continuation of that of
the previous eijjht months' observations published in the 1st Volume of the
' Transactions ' (p. 132). The means, etc., are deduced as before.— Ed.

VOL. II. — PT. III. 7

90 EAEL OF ESSEX METEOEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

The moan temperature of the aii* was 37°'5 ; the highest, 57° on
the 1st; the lowest, 19^ on the 19th and 21st; range, 38°: the
mean high day temperature, 45°' 1 ; the mean low night temperature,
29''-9 ; mean daily range, 15°-2. The highest temperature in the
sun was 70° on the 23rd.

The direction of the wind was JS'.'W. on 6 days, IST. on 4, ^.E.
on 1, E. on 4, S.E. on 1, S. on 3, S.W. on 4, and W. on 8.
AVesterly winds (S.W. to N.W.) prevailed to the 18th, then
northerly, and south-easterly for the last week.

Eain fell on 11 days, and snow on the 9th, 12th, 20th, and 22nd,
the total amount of rain and melted snow being 3'09 ins., and the
greatest fall in one day 0-75 in. (as snow) on the 12th.

The temperature sank to below freezing-point on the 19th only.

Apkil. — The mean pressure of the atmosphere was 29'90 ins. ;
the highest reading, 30'50 ins. on the 4th and 5th; the lowest,
29-00 ins. on the 19th; range, 1-50 in.

The mean temperature of the air was 43°- 1 ; the highest, 62° on
the 8th ; the lowest, 22° on the 13th ; range, 40° : the mean high
day temperature, 52°- 1 ; the mean low night temperature, 34°"0 ;
mean daily range, 18°*1. The highest temperature in the sun was
83° on the 4th.

The dii-ection of the wind was N.W. on 2 days, N. on 1, IS'.E.
on 4, E. on 4, S.E. on 1, S. on 6, S.W. on 7, and W. on 5.
Westerly winds prevailed for the first half of the month, then
easterly, and south-westerly to the end of the month.

Eain fell on 8 days, and snow on the 13th, the total amount of
rain and melted snow being 2-39 ins., and the greatest fall in one
day 0-75 in. (as snow) on the 13th.

May 1875 to Apeil 1876. — The mean pressure of the atmosphere
for the twelve months was 29-96 ins. ; the highest reading, 30-60
ins. on the 15th of January; the lowest 28-80 ins. on the 12th of
March ; range, 1-80 in.

The mean temperature of the air was 46°-6 ; the highest, 80^ on
the 4th of June ; the lowest, 10° on the 4th of December ; range,
70° : the mean high day temperature, 54^-3 ; the mean low night
temperature, 38°-9 ; mean daily range, 15°-4. The highest temper-
ature in the sun was lOS"" on the 15th of May.

The direction of the wind was jS".W. on 43 days, N. on 15, N.E.
on 60, E. on 43, S.E. on 22, S. on 40, S.W. on 91, and W. on 52.

Rain (or snow) fell on 153 days, the total amount being 33" 16
inches.

91

12. — Meteoeological Observations taken at Holly Bank,

WaTEOKD, DURIXa THE HALF-XEAE ENDING 31 ST AuGUST, 1877.

By John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.M.S., etc., Hon. Sec.

[Read 9th May, 1878.]

The observations of which some of the principal results are here
given are in continuation of those commenced in March, 1876, and
already published in our 'Transactions' (Vol. I, p. 217). They
are only iip to the end of August, owing to the observations at
Holly Bank having been discontinued in September. In October I
removed the instruments to my present residence — Wansford House
— where the observations have since been carried on.

I have nothing to add to the previous account of the locality, the
instruments, and the method of observation, but it may perhaps be
advisable to repeat that all the readings given are corrected for the
index errors of the instruments, and that the readings of the
barometer are corrected for temperature and altitude. The mean
temperature is as before deduced from the readings of the dry-bulb
thermometer at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and the mean pressure of the
atmosphere from the readings of the barometer at the same hours.

The monthly means of these observations and of other results
deduced from them are given in the accompanying table (p. 92).
From it the following table, giving some of the most important
results grouped into seasons, is compiled.

Watford.

Seasons

1877.

Mean
Pressure.

Mean
Tempera-
ture.

Mean
Daily
Eange.

Tension \

of ' Eelative
Vapour. 1 Humidity

Eainfall.

Spring

ins.
29-813
29-950

44-0
59-2

14-2
i8-i

ins. 7o
•228 79
•354 73

ins.
7-88
7 -81

Summer

For comparison the observations at the Greenwich Observatory
are computed as before from Mr. Glaisher's "Remarks on the
Weather" in the Eegistrar-General's Quarterly Reports, the values
given for mean pressure being reduced to sea-level.

Greenwich.

Seasons

1877.

Mean
Pressure.

Mean 1 Mean

Tempera- Daily

ture. 1 Eange.

Tension

of
Vapour.

Eelative
Humidity

Eainfall.

1
Spring '

ins.

29797
29-936

dK'O < I'^K

ins.

1 •9T.-Z

7c

75

7.

ins.
6-8
6-0

Summer

61 "? 1 21-4. 1 -"jSi

'

92

J. norKINSON — METEOEOLOGICAL OBSEKVATIOXS

.2 3

. ro O O O 00 lO
m O romr^OO O
f- N M N m ro "^

ci

a
d

CD

■5 -5 -5 -3 ""-S

N N N

° b N ro N ro t^

Mean
Daily

Range.

M « r^ p r^ ."*

° ro "rf ^ V "■* lO
"- « -< M " •«

O

c

° O « lO rO Tj-\0
Tt iri lo t^vo vO

N p p royn ON

" ro t^ b On O O
ro ro -^ ■5j- ■* lO

i

° O Tt-cio b 00 Cn

PL,

lOOO Cs M <^ On
r^ t^OO O O\00

S <; S h^h; <

M O O fO " «

CO T^ Tj- N Tj-lO

M

Tl- N dvn N CO

r-. HH u-iu-i o <o

aj

CO ^ C) to rO N

p4

N "1 N N O "

;2i

roO ro CO O O

N moo fO O O

^

lOCO Tl- rj- HH Tl-

VO o o o o o

rS^^^^ ^

N CM N >-• M to

o o C.

ro t^ T}- N N M
PI M N N ■-" M

P Tj- Tj- p ~ On

vo 00 r^ lovo lo

t^

CO

o

March,

April

Mav

1^ 1^

■•fcp

TAKEX AT HOLLY BANK, WATFORD, 1877. 93

In the six mouths to which these observations refer (March to
August, 1877) there are no very remarkable features to record.
The month of March was excessively cold, having a mean tempera-
ture below that of either of the three winter months — December,
1876, and January and February, 1877. June was exceptional in
being the hottest month of the summer. It was also the driest,
and had by far the longest period without rain. The rainfall in
July and August, on the other hand, was unusually heavy for those
months, and the temperature was below the average.

The following notes on the months are, as before, merely supple-
mentary to the table, in conjunction with wliich they should be
read. All the values given are corrected.

March. — The lowest night temperature recorded since these
observations were commenced occurred on the night of the 28th
February — 1st March. The weather had been getting colder
towards the end of February, and on this night the temperature
reached its minimum. A sudden change now occurred, as shown
by the following observations, the mean of which gives a rise of
13° from the 1st to the 2nd.

1st.

9 a.m.
29''-2

9 p.m.
36°-3

min.
20°-6

max.
41°-o

2nd. ...

43°-2 ....

47*-8

33°-o

52'-0

On the night of the 2nd-3rd the minimum only sank to 44°* 4.
This warm weather lasted only three days, and throughout the
month the temperature was almost equally variable, there being an
alternation of warm and cold periods. The minimum of the 1st
was nearly reached on several other days, 24°' 7 being recorded on
the 11th, 23°-3 on the 19th and 22nd, and 22°-2 on the 23rd; and
on seven other days, or twelve days in all, the minimum was
below 32°. The maximum of the 29th was also nearly approached
on the 14th, when 53°'5 was recorded. With this exception the
last four days were the warmest in the month, the maximum being
53°-8 on the 28th, 54°-3 on the 29th, 54°-2 on the 30th, and 52°-3
on the 31st. The mean of the last seven days was 6° "7 above that
of the month. The mean temperature of the month was 2"*4 lower
than that of February, and 1°'2 lower than that of January. At-
mospheric pressure, which was highest, 30-408 ins., at 9 a.m. on
the 1st, decreased in a remarkably gradual manner to the 25th, when
the mercury stood, at 9 a.m., at 28"955 ins., after which it rose each
day without interruption to the end of the month. There was no
atmospheric disturbance — violent wind or heavy rain — at the time
of lowest pressure. The direction of the wind was as variable as
the temperature. It was mostly northerly for the first half of the
month, and south-westerly towards the end. Snow fell on the 7th,
8th, 11th, 17th, 20th, and 21st, and hail on the 7th and 17th.
'J'he mornings of the 2nd and 4th were foggy. A lunar halo was
observed on the evening of the 28th.

April. — Atmospheric pressure, which had been increasing during
the last week in March, began to decrease on the 1st, and the

94 J. HOPKINSON METEOEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS

mercury was at its lowest point, 29-101 ins. at 9 p.m. on the 4th,
after which it was unsteady for the greater part of the month,
rising to 30-257 ins., its highest point, at 9 a.m. on the 20th, and
to the same again at 9 p.m. on the 30th. At about 4.30 p.m. on
the 4th, the day of lowest pressure, there was a remarkable and very
destructive storm in the neighbourhood of Ware, which has been
fully described by Lieut. Croft, r.L.S., in our 'Transactions.'*
At Watford it was scarcely felt, there being only a slight thunder-
storm in the evening, with heavy rain commencing at about 1 1 p.m.,
accompanied by a strong S.W. wind. At Enfield, between 4 and
4.20 p.m., hailstones three-quarters of an inch in diameter are re-
corded to have fallen, and considerable damage was done.f The
temperature of the air was much more uniform than in March ; but
the last half of the month was much colder than the first half, the
mean temperature from the 1st to the 15th being 46°- 6, and from
the 16th to the 30th, 42°-6. The maximum of the 4th (BO'^-l) was
only reached within 5° on one other day, the 22nd, when 58°-8
was recorded. The wind was mostly easterly, inclining to SE. the
first half of the month — the warm period — and to the jS'.E. the last
half — the cold period. Most of the rain fell during the warm
period, and there was none after the 23rd, when the first really
fine weather of the year commenced, there not having been more
than three days in succession without rain up to this time — not
only in the year, but from the beginning of November. Although
more rain fell than in the previous month, the air was considerably
drier, the degree of humidity being 12 per cent, less, as shown in
the table. Hail fell on the 4th, 5th, and 17th. The morning of
the 9th was foggy.

May. — The first few days were remarkably cold, and during the
six days from the 3rd to the 8th the minimum was below 32"^ on
five. The following readings of the minimum thermometer give a
mean low night temperature, for this period, of 29°-4, which is
14°'2 lower than the mean minimum readings of the next seven
days, and 10° -6 lower than the mean minimum of the month.

3rd

4th

30^-7

28^-1

5th

6th

23='-6

SO'^-O

7th

8th

32°-0

30''-7

Atmospheric pressure was high at the beginning of the month,
being 30-418 ins. at 9 p.m. on the 1st, after which it gradually
decreased to 29-401 ins. at 9 p.m. on the 10th, increased in an
almost equally gradual manner to 30-256 ins. at 9 p.m. on the
22nd, and again decreased to 29-249 ins. at 9 a.m. on the 28th.
The prevailing direction of the wind was north-easterly for the
first half of the month, S. to S.W. on the 16th and 17th, then
northerly to the 25th, S.E. on the 26th, and south-westerly for the
last five days. No rain fell until the 9th, there being thus, from
the 23rd of the previous month, fifteen days without rain ; but

* Vol. I, p. 230.
t Symons' ' Meteorological Magazine,' vol. xii, p. 43.

TAKEN AT HOLLY BANK, "WATFOED, 1877. 95

after tlie 9th there were not more than two days in succession
without rain.

June. — After the 28th of May the pressure of the atmosphere
increased slightly, decreasing again to 29-395 ins. at 9 a.m. on the
1st of June, the lowest pressure during the month. The mercury
then rose rapidly, standing at 29'764 ins. at 9 p.m. on the same
day, still rising for the next few days, and remaining high for the
rest of the month, with the exception of a slight depression on
the 22nd (29-577 ins. at 9 p.m.). The highest reading was 30-265
ins. at 9 a.m. on the 28th. The unusually high temperature of
this month has already been alluded to. Although the maximum
reached is entered to the 29th, there was no appreciahle diiference
on the 18th, and only half a degree on the 19th. The following
are the readings of the maximum and minimum thermometers for
three days at each of these warm periods.

17th

18th

min.

52°-2

50''-2

49°-9

max.

76°-l

IQ^-S

78"-9

28th

29th

mm.

WO

52°-5

max.

74°-6

79^-4

19th

30th

50"-7

7r'2

The maximum was above 70° on seventeen days and above 74° on
ten. The direction of the wind was very variable, not being the
same for any three days together throughout the month ; and, as
shown in the table, it was pretty evenly divided over the different
points of the compass. Rain fell on four days at the beginning of
the month and on four days towards the end. There was none
for the fourteen days from the 7th to the 20th inclusive — an
unusually long dry period. There was a thunderstorm on the
night of the 4th.

July. — The temperature of the air was unusually low for the
greater part of the month, the only warm periods (with a maximum
exceeding 70°) being from the 10th to the 13th, mean of the
maximum 71°-9, and from the 29th to the 31st, mean of the
maximum 79°-4, the meati temperature of these periods being
respectively 63°-8 and 65°-6. The maximum only exceeded 80°
on the last day of the month. It exceeded 70° on eight days.
Atmospheric pressure continued high (from June) for the first
twelve days, the mercury, after a slight fall, reaching its highest
point, 30-322 ins., at 9 am on the 9th, after which it fell to
29-218 ins. at 9 a.m. on the 15th, rising again towards the end of
the month and nearly again reaching its highest point on the 30th.
The wind maintained a westerly or south-westerly direction almost
throughout the month, inclining a little towards I^.W. for the first
few days, and towards S. between the 14th and 23rd. The rainfall
was pretty evenly distributed over the month. Tlie maximum of
the 14th was nearly equalled on the 16th, when 0-64 in. of rain
fell. There were thunderstorms on the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th,
and hail fell on the evening of the 3rd.

August. — For the first four days the mean temperature was
58°-0, being l°-5 below the mean of the month ; and for the next

96 J. HOPKINSON — METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

four days it was 64'^"5, or 6°'0 above it. No considerable change
occurred again until the 23rd, that and the following day being
very cold. The temperature then rose again to above the monthly
mean. There were two periods with the daily maximum above
70°, the 5th and 6th, mean of the maximum 73°-3 ; and the 14th
to 21st, mean of the maximum 7l"'5. The mean temperature for
these periods was 65°"2, and 64°*4, respectively. Atmospheric
pressure was less variable than in any previous month in the year,
ranging from 29*496 ins. at 9 a.m. on the 8th, to 30'202 ins. at
9 a.m. on the 24th. For the first four days the wind was north-
westerly, and south-westerly winds (S. to W.) prevailed from the
5th to the end of the month, with an interval of four days (11th
to 14th) with a northerly, and of one (25th) with a S.E., wind.
There was no interval of more than a day witbout rain, except
the 4th and 5th, and the 10th to 13th. The heaviest falls were
towards the end of the month. On the 25th 0-85 in. of rain fell,
the only near approach to the maximum of the 25th. There was
a very severe thunderstorm between 5-30 and 6 a.m. on the 19th,
and a heavy gale on that and the following night. Thunderstorms
also occurred on the morning of the 25th and on the night of
the 26th.

97

13. — Report on the Rainfall in Hertfoedshire in 1877.

By JoHX HoPKiNsoN, F.L.S., F.M.S., Hon. Sec.

[Read 9th May, 1878.]

The Report on the Rainfall in 1876, recently published in our
'Transactions' (Yol. I, p. 225), comprised the records of 23 rain
gauges from returns received from 22 observers. For last year
returns have been received from 26 observers. From two of the
1876 observers — one at Watford and the other at Berkhampstead —
returns for 1877 have not been received, but as we have live other
observers at Watford, and one at Berkhampstead, the omission of
these from the present report is not of much consequence. The
six returns now received for the first time are all fi'om localities
not before represented, and therefore add materially to our means
for determining the distribution of rain over the county.

Particulars of the gauges, with the names of the observers, are
given in the following table : —

Station.

Observer.

Sri

So

Height of
Gauge above

Ground

Sea-level.

"Watford — Bushey Station

„ "Watford House

„ Holly Bank

Eobert Savill

A. T. Brett, M.D

John Hopkinson

Edward Harrison

The Earl of Essex

Lord Ebury

ins.

5
8

5
5
5
5
6

5

*

5

12

8
8

lO

6

20

8

12

5

I

5
5
5
9
5
8

ft.

o
I

I

5

I

2
2
O
O

I

3

I
I

4
o

3
o

3
o

I

2

I

4
I
I

I
o

ins
8

3
o
6

3
o

9
9
9
o

9
6

2
2

6
o

4
o
6
o
o
I

3
o
6
o

6

ft.
220
240
270
273

340

420
420
902

237
370

345
240
82
250
114

407

319

329

400?

222

238

263

269

,, Oaklands

,, Cassiobury

Eickmansworth — Moor Park

St. Albans — Gorhambury

Harpenden — Eothamsted

„ (2nd gauge)

Kensworth [Dunstable]

Hemel Hempsted — Xash Mills

Berkhampstead — High St

Great Gaddesden

The Earl of Verulam
Lawes and Gilbert

P >»

Miss Grace Jones

J. Dickinson & Co

William Squire

Eev. W. T. Drake

Hubert Thomas, C.E.
H. F. Church

Triug— Cowroast

East Barnet — Southgate

Hoddesdon — Feildes "Weir

Hertford — Bayfordbury

Ware

Beardmore and Barnes

W. Clinton Baker

New Eiver Company

Eev. C. L. Wingfield

Eev. F. G. Jenyns

Eev. J. 0. Seager

Eev. A. P. Sanderson

Eev. J. G. Hale

Eev. H. S. Mott

William Lucas

Welwyn

Knebworth

Stevenage

Buntingford— Aspenden

Therfield

Much Hadham '•

Hitchin

Odsey

H. George Fordham

Hale Wortham

Eoyston

* Eeceiving area j^'trir oi an acre.

98

J. nOPKINSON HEPOET OX THE EAINFALL.

The localities are arranged in the same order as before, i.e.
grouped according to Mr. Pryor's proposed botanical divisions* and
the distance from Watford. The same four divisions and twelve
minor districts as in the previous year are represented.

The accompanying table (p. 99) gives the monthly and annual
rainfall f at each station. It will be seen to have been more
evenly distributed over the year than in 1876. January and
November were the wettest months, and July and August follow.
June and September were the driest.

The next table gives the mean rainfall for each of the larger
divisions or main river-basins, and also for each of the smaller dis-
tricts or lesser river-basins and their subdivisions.

f Lower Lea 29-86

I Upper Lea 29-21

L« ^"H "=":::: ^^

Rib 29-84

[Ash 29-29

( Lower Colne 31-79

Colne 32-80 Ver 34-39

( Bulborne 32-23

Thame 34-63 Thame 34-ti3

^""'^ 28-36 j Cam

27-04

In 1876 the distribution of rain in the main river-basins was —
in the Colne 32-28 inches, Thame 34-09, Ouse 28 52, and Lea
29-08, showing that the rainfall was in about the same relative
proportion in each district in the two years, the Thame receiving
the greatest amount of rain, then the Colne, then the Lea, and the
Ouse having the least.

Of the 26 observers 22 give the number of days in each month
on which -01 inch of rain or more fell. The mean of these for the
different months is as follows : —

Jan

. 23-8

April

.. 14-7

July

.. 15-0

Oct

... 13-5

Feb

. 17-0

May

.. 16-4

AujTust

.. 18-4

Nov

... 20-6

March ...

. 18-4

June

.. 7-1

Sept

.. 11-0

Dec

... 17-4

giving a mean for the year of 193-3 days, — about \Qh days more
than in 1876. The least number of rainy days Avere at Therfield
(150), 8t. Albans (165), and Hoddesdon (173); the greatest, at
Oaklands, Watford (214), Nash Mills (214), and Harpenden (220).
The numbers nearest the mean were at Eickmansworth (190),
Much Hadham (191), and Odsey (193).

These 22 returns also give the greatest amount of rain which
fell in any one day in each month ; and from these particulars the
following table is compiled. It shows at what station there was
the greatest fall in 24 hours in each month, with the day of the
month and the amount of the fall.

Jan. 3.— Great Gaddesden 0-86

Feb. 12.— East Barnet 0-50

Mar. 29.— Rickmansworth 0-48

April 9.— Welwyn 0-76

May 16. — Bayfordbury 0-75

June 30. — Buntingford 0-64

July 31.— Therfield 1-04

Au?. 25.— East Barnet 1-16

Sept. 3. — Kensworth 1-45

Oct. 29.— St. Albans 1-15

Nov. 11. — Berkhampstead 1-42

Dec. 28.— Therfield 0-81

* ' Transactions,' Yol. I, p. 67 ; and map, Plate I.
f The amounts entered as rain include melted snow.

•9 ri 2v fi S, g' ^'^ S^ 52 k b, '^ o '^ '^'i' b^c^c^b h\hs'o 'o\ b^vb i^

w PJ^N N C) pN^- N N pes T^p t^ps_Tl-M ONt^pO\p p ONp t^t^

.3 ■^^'^'i■^^u^u^lJ^u-)lJ^u-)■^

iorOc<ir<iu-)'<^cr5c<lc<ocorororOfO

m ro _0) ON p ON poo ON ONCC 0^p^t^a^pv/-l^N^^^«0"wro Onoo

gopoooooppcsp y-i\p op p p ro ON^ ^ yo roc>0 On "InO iri t^ _t1- ^j-

p § V^P^ .'^PP^ p-o pep pc>o pNioti,ii onO ^c^vdoo^p p p^

,^ Sv ^ S^ 2 ^'^ ^ VP "^^ ONrO"^«OThOOMMVO>-i On:» 00 rOOO' On
g ONONONCJOOOOvp f^ MCO pPr+.'l-p ^C» pNON w-^OO C« 00 ro N « O

• r^ roM M rON romrOrOrorOrororOTj-M tq N N cofq rO-^cOrororo

m o n?'S !?l^i^,S'S!2!::<^° "^o o o <+oo rooN^ONVoooo nno

DO p HH CS _N _►.. Vp Vp p -^ P ,j. JS, „ p^^p jy,QQ VpOpi-ipt^pONP"

g

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S . . . r*" P P r* f^9P P^'^P cpr^roo)i-icONc^p_'3-NpNi-oON

• ^ '* '^^ ^"^ N 00 NO On u-iNO u-n>»i-i o fOO NnO On^ .o O '-' « "
K cp u-i t^cp TT _Tj- pNvp r^t^u-)ON« ^ y^ p pONCS M M MOOcp ropNro

• SS *P t~ '^ "^ '^'^ ^ iriwNO OnN I^OnO to\0 nOnO "IOnN OnOnO •-<
g 00 l^Np r~. loqp op ynvnr^t^roi-i m rororop roi-i O fOON-rJ-ON Onco

• t~-V? !^^ "^^ '^'^ O O u-irOr^-ONM OOO NOOnO O i-'OOCOVD rt-Tt-
53 . "V^ P^9P PP P'?^" r* pNOr^'-i ^ Or^f^l^M ONfOi-c M 1^00 On

• r^S. ^S.'H. ^ ^£i a^^Ou^l-l Ooooo O Onoo 1-.N ■^Nu^r^Tj-ror^
cQ op On On pN p yiCO op ON^p Op _<N t^ y> p u-)NO w ro >- O iri >-r> Tj- 1>.00 i-i

Pi S

.2 ^

iW-^

■W6

las

^I^J.2 ii^
"■-' - — ^ ?5 -! ^ ea

■3 S;£

Is §

g 5 rg o S c I
5 §^ I ■

(X> o

a

' bc-?.

- -M ^ -r £ ^ - .-

Oi S "

•aKiog

•aKVHX

•vaq;

■asaf)

100 KAINFALL IN HEETFOEDSHIEE IN 1877.

The days on which the greatest amount of rain in each month at
any station is recorded to have fallen are now given, with the
number of stations at which this maximum monthly fall occurred.
The days when the amount was the maximum fall in the month,
as shown above, are indicated by italics.

January— 3rrf, the ivettest day at 20 stations ; lOtli at 2.

Febi-uary— 12(!;i aC 3; 13th at 5; 1.5th at 1 ; 19th at 10; 22udatl; 25th at 2.

March— 3rd at 4 ; 4th at 1 ; 7th at 4 ; 20th at 2* ; 23rd at 2 ; 29/A at 9.

April— 4th at 3 ; 9/A at 18; 23rd at 1.

May— nth at 2 ; r2th at 1 ; IQth at 15 ; 18th at 2 ; 20th at 1 ; 31st at 1.

Jime— 1st at 7 ; 11th at 1 ; 21st at 3 ; 22nd at 1 ; 30//i at 10.

July— 14th at 17 ; 23rd at 1 ; 25th at 2 ; 3L«.;' at 2.

August— 8th at 2 ; 21st at 6 ; 25i;/i at 8 ; 26th at 5 ; 27th at 1.

September— 2nd at 4 ; ?,rd at 14 ; 11th at 2 ; 14th at 2.

October— 21st at 1 ; 22nd at 1 ; 23rd at 2 ; 25th at 1 ; 2^lh at 17.

November— 5th at 1 ; 9th at 1 ; 11^/i at 20.

December— 5th at 1 ; 2%th at 20t ; 30th at 1.

The days on which a heavy fall of rain was most general over
the county are thus clearly shown, and by comparing the above
with the previous table some idea of the amount of the fall may be
formed.

January and November have been stated to have been the wettest
months in the year. On the 11th of November a fall exceeding
one inch occurred at the greatest number of stations during the
year. In January, on the other hand, there was no daily fall
equal to one inch anywhere, the excess in this month being due to
continuous wet weather, rather than to any great downpour. Falls
exceeding one inch occurred every month from July to jSTovember ;
but on no occasion was a fall equal to one inch recorded during
the first half of the year. The following are the falls of an inch
or more recorded on the days of maximum monthly fall : —

July 25— Buntingford, 1-02.

July 31— Therfield, 1-04.

August 21— Holly Bank, Watford, Ml ; Oaklands, Watford, 1-00.

August 25— East Barnet, 1-16.

September 3 — Kensworth, 1-45; Stevenage, r04; Hitchin, 1-04.

October 29— St. Albans, Mo.

Kovember 5 — Ware, 1-40.

November 11-St. Albans, 1-25; Harpenden, 1-38; Nash Mills, 1-06; Berk-

hampstead, 1-42; Great Gaddesden, 1-32; Tring, 1-40; Welwyn, 1-00;

Stevenage, 1*18; Hitchin, 1-31.

The rainfall in 1877, as in the two previous years, was consider-
ably above the average, there having thus been three wet years in
succession. From the records of former years I have received,
about 26 inches appears to be the average for the county, but
records extending as far as ten years back have as yet only been
received from three observers. A report on the rainfall of past
years cannot therefore yet be prepared.

* Snow. t Snow and rain.

101

14. — EePOET on PnENOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HERTFORDSHIRE

IN 1877.

By John Hopkinsox, F.L.S., F.M.S., Hon. Sec.
[Read 9th May, 1878.]

The present Report on Phonological Phenomena differs chiefly
from that for 1876 ('Transactions,' Vol. II, p. 37) in comprising
returns from three localities — Watford, Ware, and Odsey — whereas
in 1876 observations were made at Watford and Ware only. Our
additional observer is Mr. H. George Fordham, F.G.S., of Odsey
Grange. At Ware Mr. Carter has discontinued observing, so that
we are indebted to Lieut. Croft, F.L.S., for all the observations
made there. The observations for Watford are contributed as
before, where not otherwise stated, by myself.

Following the same plan as in the previous report, I give first a
record of the dates on which the flowers of plants in the Meteoro-
logical Society's list were observed to be open. When a date
earlier than the actual date of observation is given as the probable
day on which any flower opened, a (?) is added as before. In such
cases the limit of alteration is three days.

Of the 44 plants here enumerated (about the same number as
in the previous year) it will be seen that 23 were observed by
myself at Watford, 26 by Lieut. Croft at Ware, and 19 by Mr.
Fordham at Odsey. The dates appear on the average to be about
the same at Watford as at Ware, and rather later at Odsey, but so
few plants have been observed in all the three localities, that a
satisfactory comparison cannot be made. The result arrived at is
however what would naturally be expected, Odsey being consider-
ably to the north of both Watford and Ware.

Comparing together the years 1876 and 1877, we fin rl that out
of the 38 species of plants observed in both years, 10 came into
flower earlier and 10 later in 1877 than in 1876, while 18 flowered
at about the same time in both years. Taking each year as a whole
there was therefore no difference in the state of vegetation as
determined by the flowering of plants. When, however, different
months of these two years are compared, it will be found that the
earlier dates for 1877 are in the months of February, March, and
April, and the later dates chiefly in May and June ; showing that
in the early spring vegetation was more forward last year than in
1876, while later in the spring and in the summer it was more
backward. A reference to a meteorological register will show
this to be due to the mild winter of 1876-77, and the cold weather
which followed in the spring. At Watford, for instance, the mean
temperature of the three winter months (December, January, and
February) was 41°-8,* while the mean temperature of March was
only 39°-l.f This mild winter weather brought plants into flower

• ' Transactions,' Vol. I, p. 219. t lb. Vol. II, p. 92.

102 J. HOPKINSON — REPORT ON PHENOLOGICAL

almost too soon early in the year, and afterwards the cold weather
of March retarded their flowering in some cases by two or three
weeks.
No. Species. Watford. Ware. Odsey.

1. Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone) Mar. 24

2. Ranunculus Ficaria (pilewort) Feb. 7

3. Rammciilus acris (upright crowfoot) May 4

4. Caltha palicstris (marsh marigold) Mar. 30

5. Fiipaver Rhceas (red poppy) June 9 June 14 May 29

7. Cardaiiiinc pratensis [cuckoo ^(y^Gv) April 13

9. Viola odorata (sweet violet) Feb. 6

10. Folygala vulgaris (milkwort) May 2 June 3

11. Lychnis Flos-ciiculi (ragged Robin) June 11

• 12. Stellaria Holostea (greater stitch wort) April 8 Mar. 29

13. Malva sylvestris (common mallow) June 17 June 16 June 24

16. Geranium Robertianum (herb Robert) May 20 April 19

17. Trifolium repens (Dutch clover) June 2 June 1

18. Lotus corniculatus (bird's-foot trefoil) June 11 June 8

20. Vicia sepium (bush-vetch) May 27

21. Lathyrus pratensis (meadow vetchling) June 13 June 18

22. Frunus spinosa (blackthorn) Feb. 24 IMar. 5

24. Fotentilla anserina (silver-weed) June 5 June 4

26. Rosa canina (dog rose) June 13 June 14 June 14

28. Epilobinm niontamim (broad willow herb) June 17

ZO. Ayithriscus sylvestris {yiild. c\i&xvi\) April 15 April 27

31. Hedera Helix (ivj-) Nov. 13

32. Galium Aparine (cleavers) May 24 May 27

33. Galium verum (yellow bedstraw) July 2

37. Tussilago Farfara (coltsfoot) Feb. 7 Mar. 2

38. Achillea MiUefolium (milfoil) July 5 ?

39. Chrysanthemnm Lcucanthemum (ox-eye) May 31 June 2 May 31

41. Senecio Jacohcea (ragwort) ' July H

46. Hieracium Filosella (mouse-ear) June 3

47. Campanula rotundifolia (hair-bell) Jnly 10 July 13

51. Fedicularis sylvatica (red rattle) May 5

62. Veronica Chamcedrys (germander speedwell) April 22 *

57. Nepcta Glechoma (ground ivy) April 8

69. Stachys sylvatica (hedge woundwort) June 16

60. Ajuga reptans (creeping bugle) May 9 ? May 3

&\. Frimula veris {co\fs\\])) Mar. 14 April o

62. Flantago lanceolata (ribwort) April 24

63. Mercurialis perennis {Aog^ 5 vnercwxy) Feb. 7

64. TJhnus montana (wych elm) Feb. 10

67. Orchis maculata (spotted orchis) June 13

68. Fris Fseudacorus (yellow iris) June 12 June 14

69. Narcissus Fseudo-narcissus (daffodil) Mar. 13 Feb. 24

70. Galanthus nivalis (snowdrop) Jan. 17

71. Endymion nutans (bluebell) April 22

The great amplitude in one species ( Geranium Robertianum') calls
for special remark. Its usual time of flowering is from about the
end of April to the middle of May. "We have the date May 20 for
Watford. At Ware it was observed in flower a month earlier, and
in Devonshire and Hampshire specimens were seen in flower early
in February.* These early dates do not however show the true
time of flowering of the species, but of a few plants only (as a

* ' Quart. Journ. Meteorological Society,' vol. iv, p. 56.

OBSERVATIONS IN HERTFORD SHIKE IN 1877. 103

rule) which were, brought into flower before their proper time by
the mihl winter, just as, when we have unusually warm weather
succeeding colder late in the Autumn or early in the Winter,
several of our spring-flowering plants may again come into flower.
Such exceptional phenomena indicate abnormal states of the
weather as surely as any meteorological instruments can do.

The results of the observations that have been made on the
insects and birds, etc., must now be given. The initials used in the
following summary refer to the observers already mentioned.

7-1. Apis mellifica (honey bee). Seen at "Ware, Feb. 20 — R. B. C.
11. Epinephile Janira (meadow-brown butterfly). Seen at St. Albans, June
U-J. H.

83. Turdus pilaris (fieldfare). Seen at Odsey, Nov. 6 — H. G. F.

84. Dan/ias Luscinia (nightingale). Heard at Watford, April 15 — J. H. ;
Amwell Bury, April 15— R. B. C. ; Odsey, April 15— H. G. F. ; Ware
(numerous), April 24 — R. B. C.

88. Alauda arvensis (skylark). Heard at Ware, Feb. 7 — R. B. C.

90. Corvus frugilegus (rook). Building at Odsey, March 3 — H. G. F.

91. Cuculus canorus (cuckoo). Heard at Watford, April 18 — Lord Essex;
April 19— J. H. ; Odsey, April 19— H. G. F. ; Ware, April 23— R. B. C.
Changed its note at Watford, June 14 — J. H.

92. Eirnndo rustica (swallow). Seen at Watford, April 23 — J. H. and J.
King; Ware, April 26— R. B. C. ; Odsey. April 29— H. G. F.

93. Ci/pselus Apus (swift). Seen at Watford, May 15— J. King; Ware, May
16— R. B. C.

97. Eana teniporaria (common frog). Spawn seen at Ware, March 30 —
R. B. C.

Here we can only compare together and with the previous year
the dates on which the nightingale's song and the cuckoo's note
were heard and the swallow and swift were seen. The earliest
dates are at Watford, but at Ware and Odsey the dates are usually
only a day or two later. Compared with 1876, the nightingale
was heard a week earlier in 1877, the cuckoo about two days
earlier, and the swallow and swift at about the same time each year.

The appearance in unusual numbers of the clouded yellow
butterfly [Colias JEdusa) during the last few days of May only
needs a passing mention here, having already been recorded in our
' Transactions ' (Vol. I, p. 239). .

104

15. — The Physic a.l Chaeacteeisxics of Mineeils.

By James U. Harford.

[A Lecture delivered 11th April, 1878.]

Absteact.

The word Mineralogy means strictly a discourse on matter found
in mines ; but, like many other terms of natural philosophy, has
a more comprehensive application, and must be taken to include
the inquiry into the character and properties of all materials which
are found composing the crust of the earth. It addresses itself to
the investigation of the laws, chemical, optical, and physical, of
those materials.

It will be at once seen that the inquiry is of wide extent. The
chemical laws prevail throughout the world of inanimate matter ;
thus Chemistry becomes a necessity in the complete study of the
mineral world. Again, minerals are found in crystallised forms :
so are other substances artificially produced; Crystallography is
therefore brought into requisition. Again, many remarkable
optical phenomena are exhibited by minerals ; thus the science
of Optics becomes necessaiy. And the same may be said in respect
to Electricity and Magnetism. There are two ways of looking at
the subject which will help us on this occasion. One is to take
minerals as they are and submit them to the ordeal of our ordinary
senses. Thus we attain to a knowledge of t\vQ\v physical properties.
The other is followed by chemical decomposition and the applica-
tion of chemical tests. Thus we determine their chemical com-
position. The former of these modes is followed in this lecture,
and probably there is not a single sense to which appeal may not
be made.

Smell. — This is a characteristic of many minerals, even in their
natural state ; such as sulphur and some of the carboniferous
or bituminous group. When heat is applied, the smell of the
fumes or vapour becomes powerful ; but this test is beyond the
limit of the present subject, and must be passed by.

Taste. — This distinguishes all minerals which are soluble, such as
some metallic and earthy salts. Somewhat analogous to taste is
adhesion to the tongue, which characterises some aluminous earths.

Feel. — This is somewhat complex, and requires practical illustra-
tion, involving the feel of minerals as rough, smooth, meagre,
unctuous or soapy, dry, harsh, etc. ; — all furnishing distinct cha-
racteristics of different minerals.

Hardness. — The hardness of minerals is a decisive characteristic,
and a regular scale in ten gradations is agreed on by mineralogists
for the purpose of ascertaining and recording this character. The
softest mineral of the scale is talc, which may be scratched with
the finger nail. The hardest known substance is the diamond.

J. IJ. HAEFORD — CnARACTERISTICS OP MINERALS. 105

Between these extremes all minerals may be classed in reference to
their hardness.*

Weight. — This is a constant distinctive characteristic of minerals,
and is reckoned by comparison with the weight of a similar bulk of
distilled water. It is termed specific gravity.

While some minerals are lighter than water, and will con-
sequently swim on its surface, the ordinary earthy minerals, such
as stones, weigh about 2-6 times the weight of the same bulk of
water. The metallic substances or ores are heavier, and culminate
in gold, which weighs 19-3 times heavier than water. An inter-
mediate place is occupied by the earthy mineral called baryta, the
sulphate of which has a specific gravity of about 4-5, whereas that
of sulphuret of iron (pyrites) is only 4 '3. Baryta derives its name
from its weight. In general the greater specific weight of a body
indicates the presence of metal, and it is said that the sulphate of
baryta has in this way been mistaken for white lead ore. Mallea-
bility, ductility, brittleness (distinct from hardness), flexibility,
toughness, elasticity, are other characteristics of minerals, constant
and uniform in their occurrence, and all serving to distinguish
various mineral bodies.

Appearance. — The appeal of minerals to the sight is in various
ways, their colour, lustre, transparency, — their metallic or non-
metallic aspect, — their resinous, vitreous, pearly, chatoyant, silky,
iridescent appearances. All these are worthy of remark and present
characteristics of distinct minerals. The streak is important to be
noticed, that is, the colour of the powder of the mineral produced
by scratcliing. As an instance of this point may be mentioned the
oxide of copper, which being grey in the natural state, becomes red
when in powder. This causes the substance to be familiarly
termed red oxide of copper.

Electricity and Maynetism afford characteristics that are im-
portant. As instances the diamond and amber may be mentioned.
They become electric when rubbed. The magnetic ore of iron
possesses the magnetic property in its natural state, and most ores
of iron influence the magnet after being heated.

Crystallisation. — The tendency of divers minerals to assume
regular geometric shapes is a conspicuous test of their nature.
The dimensions of their angles of form may be reckoned with
the utmost nicety. The simplest form, the cube, or perhaps the
octahedron, or still more simply the tetrahedron, and the various
forms related to them, form the class from which the phenomenon
of double refraction is absent. When a ray of light passes obliquely
through a transparent substance, it suffers refraction. If the trans-
parent medium is a crystal of the cubic class of form, the refraction
is single, — that is, the ray of light is undivided. When the crystal

* The scale is as follows : —

1. Talc, common foliated variety. 6. Felspar, cleavable variety.

2. Mica. 7. Quartz, transparent variety.

3. Calc-spar, transparent variety. S. Tupaz, tr;iusparent crystal.

4. Fluor-spar, crystallised variety. 9. Sapphire, or corundum.

5. Apatite, transparent crystal. 10. Diamond.

VOL. II. — PT. III. 8

106 J. U. n-VEFOKD — CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS.

is of any other fundamental form than the cube, the ray of light
traversing it is doubled, or divided into two, and these are polar-
ised. That is, they possess properties that are alike in contrary or
rectangular positions. This peculiarity is due to the polarisation
of light, and cannot be here further noticed.**

Cleavage. — Somewhat analogous to the subject of crystallisation
is that of cleavage. Many minerals split or divide into flakes in
various ways, and with greater or less facility. Amongst the
easiest to cleave may be mentioned mica, and all degrees of
difficulty of cleavage may be observed in other minerals. Some
minerals have but one plane of cleavage ; others more, up to six,
of which may be instanced the sulphuret of zinc or blende. The
cleavage may be parallel to the natural face of the crystal, or
otherwise, but always in accordance with a fixed rule.

Many other peculiarities of structure or texture in minerals may
be noticed, all of which requii'e illustration, such as radiated, as in
the globular iron pyrites ; massive or amorphous, as in native
copper; fibrous, as in asbestos, tremolite, malachite, and satin spar;
capillary, as in some specimens of native silver; lamellar, as in mica
and talc; stalactitic, as in ordinary stalactites; granular, as in sand-
stones ; botryoidal, as in ores of iron and in chalcedony ; and many
other features might be adduced to exemplify the varied face of
natural productions.

* This subject has been treated of b)' Mr. Harford in a previous lecture. See
' Transactions,' Vol. I, p. 152. — Ed.

tLATfi. ].

THE MAY FLY.-GliEEiN AND GREY DRAKE.
(Jlpheinera vulgata.)

107

16. — Notes on the May Fly.

By Peter Hood, M.D.

[Read 13th June, 1878.]

Plate I.

Perhaps the most interesting of all our aquatic insects — to the
fly-fisherman more especially — is the green drake or May fly —
Ephemera vulgata — which belongs to the order Neuroptera, and the
family JEpJiemeridce.

This fly proceeds from a water nympha and lives as the green
drake (the sub-imago state) for one or two days ; then the female
changes to the grey drake, and the male to the black drake. The
green drake cannot be said to be in season quite three weeks on an
average. Its season depends greatly on the state of the weather ;
and it will be found earlier on the slowly running pai'ts of a stream
(such as mill dams) than on the rapid places. The grey drake
lives three or four days after her metamorphosis from the female
green drake, and is caught by the fish whilst laying her eggs on
the water. The term of existence of the black drake is about the
same as that of the female. He is smaller than the female, and is
erroneously supposed by some, who call him the death drake, to
kill her.

It has been asserted by those who have devoted attention to the
observation of the May fly, that exactly one year elapses, almost to
a day, from the time the eggs are laid by her to the appearance of
the flies on the water. That they do appear within a few days of
this period there is no doubt, but the evolution from the larva
state to that of the beautiful fly is much dependent upon the
weather, and more especially also on the temperature of the water.
I have not been able to ascei'tain at what period after the egg has
been deposited by the female (Avhich sinks like a shot to the bottom
of the water) it is hatched, to form the larva, or maggot-like
looking object, and I am afraid it may be long before such in-
formation reaches us. I extract the following from Ronald's
' Fly-fisher's Entomology ' (p. 92), it being the most detailed
account I have been able to obtain: — "The egg of this fly ... .
sinks to the bottom of the water, and is there, in a few days,
hatched into a white grig ; this larva undergoes several transmuta-
tions before it becomes a nympha, which, rising to the surface at
its appointed season, bursts the case or skin which encloses it (at
the shoulders), displays beautiful wings, quits its old husk, and,
after the lapse of a second or two, generally flies to the nearest terra
firma, where it remains in solitude and shelter (from the wind and
sun-beams) for about two days. It then undergoes its last
metamorphosis, and enters upon its imago or perfect state,
changing the whole of its envelopes, even those of its fine tails and
legs. The tails and the two fore-legs of the male increase to about
double their former length, those of the female receive an accession

108 DR. HOOD NOTES ON THE MAT FLT.

of not quite one-third. Tlie colour is j^enerally altered, the wings
becoming shining and transparent. Tlie male carries two large
stemmata upon his head, and a pair of callipers at the end of
his body, which two peculiarities chiefly distinguish his appearance
from the female. He is also usually rather smaller than she is. He
may be seen merrily dancing, as it were, up and down in the air in
vast crowds, frequently near a bush by the water- side, whilst the
female is to be discovered busily employed rising and falling and
hovering over the water, and sometimes touching the surface and
making use of her long tails to spring up again. She lays her eggs
at this moment." The egg itself is of infinitesimal size, and it
may be that the rapidity of growth of the larva is out of all pro-
portion to the dimensions of the cavity from whence it sprung.
When the larva has attained a certain size, it changes to the caddis
state, constructing a mansion for itself, by attaching small pieces
of wood, straw, small stones, etc., and it lies concealed in this
cylindrical habitation until the time arrives for its ultimate change.*
On examining one of these objects the head will be observed
slightly protruding, and a short pair of legs may be seen beneath
the thorax — but these can only be observed when the caddis is not
alarmed. It has the power of crawling and attaching itself to
timbers, or large stones, and is seen on the gravelly bottom of rivers.
AVhilst in the caddis state trout and other fish will feed on it, swal-
lowing it case and all, the gastric juice of the stomach digesting
the contents of the case. Trout, more especially, may often be
observed "feeding at the bottom," as fishermen call it, in shallow
streams. Their tails will be out of water, whilst their heads are
burrowing in the gravel for these and other insects. When thus
occupied, the chances of catching fish are very small.

The May fly is common in the rivers that are unpolluted in the
Midland, Western, and Southern counties. It is not so common
in the North, and is rare and even unknown in many of the
best rivers in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. In Hampshire there
is a celebrated club called the Houghton Club, which owns many
miles of the river Test. This river is one of great purity, and the
May fly is most abundant on it. The members belonging to the club
assemble together for the express purpose of fishing during the
" May Fly Season," which lasts for a fortnight, and it is a period
of extreme enjoyment to them. They have a large tent erected on
the bank of the stream, and they constitute a most agreeable party.

On the river Wandle, in Surrey, no May fly appears, but they
have a fly on that water common also to others, which the fishermen
call their May fly, which appears about the same time, but it is the
alder fly or orl fly, which belongs to the same order, Neuroptera,
as the genuine May fly. This comes also from a water nympha,

* This view of the metamorphosis of the IVIay fly is not that generally held by
naturalists, who believe the caddis to be the larva of Phnjfiaiwa (and alliea
genera)— not of Ephemera. Izaak Walton, however, says that the May fly "is
bred of the cod-worm or caddis," and this seems to be the general opinion of
anglers. — Ed.

DR. HOOD — N^OTES OX THE MAT FLY. 109

but iustoad of laying its eggs in the water, it lays them on the
leaves of trees which overhang the water. It is in season from
the last week in May until the end of June. The river Wandle is
mentioned by Izaak Walton in his book on angling, and he speaks
of the trout therein as being the finest to be found anywhere. It
is possible that they were so in his day, when the May fly might
have been a denizen of those waters — from which subsequently
pollution may have banished it, — but at present I think they are
not entitled to this venerable and worthy fisherman's distinction.

When the May fly first comes to the surface of the water, it has
to shake off the case that confines its wings, to dry them, and to
gain a little strength in the new atmosphere it breathes, before it
can fly to enjoy its short existence. It generally manages to
shelter itself on a tuft of grass, when if the sun is shining it soon
takes to flight and hovers over the water. It now becomes the
prey of numerous birds as well as fish. I have watched the
difl'erent kinds of birds that prey upon it, and it seems to them all
a most tempting morsel. Swifts, swallows, martins, chafiinches,
water-wagtails, starlings, and even rooks do not disdain to catch
them when they are able. Perhaps the most amusing sight is to
watch the common sparrow attack the May fly. His flight is a
clumsy one, and he has no chance of securing his prey when on the
wing ; he therefore adopts a coarser but an effectual mode of
capture. He flies sharply at the May fly, and butts it so as to
knock it down, and then secures it. He takes care never to do this
unless the fly is over a bank of weeds, or off the water, for he
seems to know that if he acted otherwise, the fly would fall on
the water and it would be beyond his power to secure it. I have
seen the still parts of a river covered with the skins, or exuviae, of
the May fly, and frequently have noticed trout rise at them when
they have been floating down the stream, turning away from them,
however, in apparent disgust when they have discovered their mis-
take in grasping at a shadow instead of a substance.

It would well repay any lover of the science of Entomology,
who possessed an aquarium, to trace the history of the May fly
from the egg. This might be done by obtaining some of the flies
from the surface of the water whilst engaged in depositing their
eggs, and removing them to the aquarium. The bottom of the
a(juarium should be composed of fine and coarse gravel, care being
observed to exclude therefrom all insects, fish, snails, etc., that
would be likely to prey upon the eggs, or larvae, when hatched.
In fact, the aquarium should be devoted exclusively to the occupancy
of the May fly's eggs. An examination of the cases in which
the caddis of the May fly is found would instruct the experimenter
as to the various materials he should place at the bottom of the
aquarium so as to be in readiness for the larva when it has arrived
at a certain age of growth to construct for itself a habitation. As
it is in streams and running water that the May fly deposits her
ova, the tanlc in whicli the eggs are deposited should be constantly
supplied with running water. If this experiment were carried

110 DR. HOOD — NOTES OJf THE MAY FLY.

out, some most interesting facts might be obtained. Making allow-
ance for the difference of temperature between the water in the
aquarium and in a river, an approximation might be arrived at
as to the length of time that occurred before the egg was hatched.
When hatched, the changes that would take place in the larva,
if any, — whether it in any manner resembled that of the silk-worm,
with which we are familiar, — also the period that would elapse
before the larva was of a size to construct for itself a home, — and
how long it would remain a tenant of such home, anterior to its
wonderful metamorphosis, — should be observed. Watching these
various stages could not fail to be most interesting to the
naturalist.

In connexion with the history of the birth and progress of the
May fly to maturity, we are able to draw most important conclu-
sions as to the condition of the water — its healthfulness or other-
wise — on which she is found. No May flies will be discovered on
streams that are polluted by sewage and other noxious elements.
Many streams that have even been celebrated for the abundance of
these flies are now no longer tenanted by them. This fact has
excited a good deal of remark, and various opinions have been
assigned for their disappearance. I cannot think there is any
mystery or difficulty in explaining the true cause of their absence.
If the bottom of a river is contaminated by materials that should
never have been permitted to be passed into the stream, we cannot
feel surprised at the tender egg of a May fly being poisoned and
rendered rotten when it comes in contact with it — for it follows as
a matter of course, that if the eggs deposited by the flies are not
hatched there can be no May flies. That this is the true cause of
the disappearance of this fly fi-om many rivers, it is unfortunately
too easy to prove. One of the most striking amongst them is to
be found in the Colne at Rickmansworth. This river formerly
abounded with May flies as well as trout ; both have disappeared
in consequence of the deleterious materials employed by Mr.
McMurray, at Loudwater and Scott's Bridge Mills, which flnd
their way into this portion of the river. The laws of nature are
thus subverted in order to further the interests of man.

EXPLAXATIOX OF PLATE I.

On the left-hand blade of ijrass is the female green drake, which changes into
the grey drake on the right-hand blade, her cast-off pellicle being on the grass
stem below. The flying insect is the perfect male, or black drake.

Ill

17. — Miscellaneous Notes axd Obseeyations.

[Read 13th June, 1878.]

Botany.

Fertilisation of Atccuha Japonica. — At oiir June meeting last year
a note by the Rev. R. H. Webb, M.A., relating to the fertilisation
of this shrub, was communicated, in which he states that, although
the female plant was introduced into this country about 95 years
since, yet it was only within the last few years that the male plant
was brought here.* I have been familiar with the female plant,
which we used to call Cuba laurel, all my life ; but I never saw
the male till to-day. Two or three weeks since, I noticed five
pretty, red, shining berries, oval, and about the size of peas, on a
plant opposite my house. I have brought them on the branch for
you to see, and also a small piece of the male plant. You will ob-
serve that the female plant is (as it should be) much prettier than the
male, ha-sing larger leaves which are handsomely spotted, and that
the male is small and inconspicuous. At first I could not under-
stand how the laurel could bear fruit, as I did not know of any
male plant in Watford. At last I found out that Mr. Humbert had
a small male plant, situated 550 paces by the road from my house.
Mr. Humbert has planted bis male j^lant just under and contiguous
to two fine female plants, and it is somewhat singular that my
plant should be fertilised at this distance, whilst I could not dis-
tinguish a single berry on his trees. I should be glad if some of
our entomologists would observe for me to what insect we are
indebted for the fertilisation of the Aucuba Japonica. — Alfred T.
Brett, M.D., Watford House.

Zoology.

Singular Disease amongst the Beer in Cassiolury Park. — In July,
1877, some of the fallow deer in Cassiobury Park were taken with
a singular and fatal disease. They began by refusing food and
drink. They seemed restless and agitated, running against trees,
and they partially lost their power of walking, the hind legs being
more especially affected. They died in from two to five days.
The disease did not seem confined to any age, or sex, or condition,
some of the finest bucks being taken. About this time rabies
was supposed to be very prevalent, and two cases of hydrophobia
had occuiTed near Watford. Some people, therefore, supposed
from the symptoms that the deer were macl. There is no evidence
of this. A post-mortem examination was made of one, and the
disease was supposed to be inflammation of the membrane of the
spinal cord. The disease has continued up to the present time,
June i;')th, and out of a herd of 300, about 80 have died. A
similar disease occurred in the time of the late Earl of Essex, when

* ' Transactions,' Vol. I, p. 239.

112 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

out of a herd of 600, nearly 150 died; this Avas 70 years since.
About 57 years since a similar disease also happened. The cause
of the disease is obscure, and 1 have not heard of it in any of the
neighbouring parks. In the 1821 epidemic, I am informed thut
Dr. Andrews (Mr. "Ward's predecessor), Mr. Forsdyke, sen., and
many others, ate the venison with safety. There is also a disease
among the ewes at Cassiobury ; and out of 150, over 40 have
died, lyord Essex has had dead deer and dead sheep examined at
the Agricultural College, Cirencester, and he has had elaborate
reports sent him. These he has kindly lent me, and any one
interested in the subject may read them. The opinion given is that
the deer die of apoplexy from too good feeding. — A. T. Brett.

Natural Selection in Ealhits. — The doctrines of Darwin are so
important to naturalists and biologists, that 1 think any fact that
tends to confirm or refute them is worthy of notice: Mr. Jonathan
King, of Wiggenhall, about 20 years since, had a wild grey rabbit
which produced three black ones. These he had preserved, and
now he has a large colony of black rabbits. He says that they
never come piebald, and although the black and grey breed together,
the offspring are always all black or all grey. This observation is
different from the one recorded by Darwin in his charming book,
' A Naturalist's Voyage round the World.' Ho there says (p. 193)
in speaking of the wild rabbits of the Falkland Islands: "The
French naturalists have considered the black variety a distinct
species, and have called it Lepus Magellaniciis. The Gauchos
laughed at the idea of the black being different from the grey, and
they said that at all events it had not extended its range any
further than the grey kind ; that the two were never found
separate, and that they readily bred together and produced piebald
offspring. Of the latter I now possess a specimen, and it is marked
about the head differently from the French specific description.
This circumstance shows how cautious naturalists should be in
making species, for even Cuvier, on looking at the skull of one of
these animals, thought it was probably distinct." Besides the
black variety of rabbits, Mr. King formerly had a breed of the
silver-grey variety — black rabbits with white hairs, chiefly down
the back. The late Mr. Nathaniel Hibbert, of Munden, also gave
him a pair of white wild rabbits. These bred and continued as a
colony for some time, but being so conspicuous by reason of their
colour they met with many enemies, and they did not survive veiy
long, dying out according to the law of the survival of the fittest.
The black rabbits are now very numerous and outnumber the grey.
—A. T. Brett.

113

18. — TnE BuLBOEIfE AND GadE, WITH NoTES ON THE FlSH OF THE
TWO RiVEES.

By John E. Littleboy.
[Read 14th November, 1878.]

"Rivers," says a Spanish proverb, " were made for wise men to
contemplate, and for fools to pass by without consideration." I
am inclined to think that there is even more than a substratum of
truth in the words I have quoted, and I hope that I need not apolo-
gise if I venture to detain you for a few minutes with a short
description of the rivers Bulborne and Gadc, before I attempt to
enumerate the tish that frequent theii' waters.

That portion of the Chiltern Hills which extends from AYendover
to Dunstable, and which becomes the north-western boundary of
the county of Hertford, is remarkable as forming the watershed
from which four distinct rivers — the Thame, the Ouzel, the I'ul-
borne, and the Gade — take their rise. "With the Thame, which
rises on the opposite, side of the hills, only a few miles distant from
what was once the source of the Bulborne, and which, after
watering the Vale of Aylesbury and passing the town of Thame,
discharges itself into the Isis a few miles above Wallingford ; and
with the Ouzel, which rises, in similar fashion, a few miles north
of the source of the Gade, and, after passing Leighton Buzzard,
falls into the Great Ouse at Newport Pagnell, we, as a Hertford-
shire Field Club, have but little or nothing to do.

The Bulborne and the Gade are essentially Hertfordshire
streams ; they rise in Hertfordshire, throughout their entire course
they Avash the soil of our county, and the latter effects a confluence
with the waters of the Colne just within its limits. The Bulborne
is thus described by Chauncy : * " The Bulbourne ; rising in the
Parish of Tring, and running by the Frith called Parkhill, thro'
Pendley Wyer and Penley Moore, goes to a place named Dagnalls "
(which name I believe to be a mistake) ; " thence hastening thro'
Albury Meads and Dudswell Bottom, falls away by jSTorth-Church,
and washing the North East Side of Berkhamsted, is encreased by
the assistance of two Springs; " etc.

In the year 1700, which was, I believe, about the period at
which Chauncy wrote, this description was doubtless a correct one.
All the old maps which I have been able to consult describe the
Bulborne as rising as high or higher than Park Hill, the point
mentioned by Chauncy, and in most of them a branch is also shown
as rising somewhere near Aldbury, and joining the Bulborne
between New Ground and the Cow Roost.

It is remarkable that at present there appears to be no trace of
the Bulborne above the Cow Roost, and, although it is still possible
to follow what was once a watercourse along some portion of the

* ' Hist. Antiq. Herts,' vol. i, p. 4 (reprint, 1826).
VOL. II. — rx. IV. 9

114 J. E. LITTLEBOY — THE BXJLBORNE AND GADE,

Aldbury meadows, it but rarely happens that any water is to be
found, and even in the wettest seasons no current is perceptible.
The Dudswell meadows may fairly be considered as the present
source of the Bulborne, and, as Dudswell is three miles nearer
London than Park Hill, it is evident that the little river has ceased
to flow over at least that distance of its former course, and also that
the feeder from Aldbury has altogether disappeared. This altera-
tion must of necessity have been caused by a permanent depression
of the plane of saturation in the surrounding Chalk formation, and
it is more than possible that it has resulted from the cutting of the
Grand Junction Canal and the artificial drainage thereby created.
If I am correct in this hypothesis, I am afraid that it affords a
rather ominous prognostication of the possible effect of the opera-
tions of the Colne Valley Waterworks on the waters of the Yer and
Colne.

The Bulborne, after rising, as I have said, in the Dudswell
meadows, pursues its course onwards by Northchurch to Berk-
hampstead, as lively a little stream as ever invited the tarriance of
trout or grayling. Below North church the development of the
trade in watercresses has told its tale ixpon the river ; wherever a
tributary spring could be detected, or in places where it has been
found practicable to divert a portion of its current, large artificial
watercress beds, extending over many acres, have been laid out and
planted on what was formerly meadow land, and I am informed
that the breakfast tables not only of London, but of Liverpool,
Manchester, and the large Yorkshire towns, are daily supplied with
cresses, the produce of our little Bulborne.

The growth of watercresses in this district has, no doubt, been
fostered to a large extent by the equable temperature of the
stream. Issuing from the base of the Chalk hills but a few miles
distant, and constantly receiving additional supplies from a similar
source, the water of the Bulborne but rarely freezes, and even
during the heat of summer it possesses a most agreeable and
refreshing coolness.

At the top of Berkhampstead, about halfway between the river
and the turnpike road, St. John's Well — a spring that bubbles up
under cover of a little shed near the spot where once stood the
Hospital of St. John the Evangelist, founded in the reign of King
John by Geoffrey Fitz-Piers, Earl of Essex, for the cure of lepers
— discharges, down the side of the lane that derives its name from
the well, a constant supply of sparkling water, as delicious in
flavour as ever

" Babbled over pebbles."

Unfortunately for Berkhampstead it is not allowed

" To join the brimming river "

in its unpolluted state, but is made the vehicle for receiving a large
portion of the drainage from the upper part of the town. It
renounces almost iminediately the patronage of the Evangelist, and
under the very appropriate soubriquet of the " Back or Black

WITH NOTES o:n' their fish. 1 1 5

Ditch," pours into the Bulborne above the upper mill as foul a
current of mephitic abomination as ever defiled a watercourse.

At Berkhampstead the course of the Bulborne becomes incorpo-
rated, for the first time, in that of the Grand Junction Canal. The
upper and lower mills on this river are mentioned by Chauncy as
being, in the year 1271, of the annual value of £6 13s. 4(1. each,
and are probably about as ancient as any existing in the district.

Prom Berkhampstead the Bulborne wends its way along the
meadows of a beautiful valley, and, passing Bourne End — where it
receives the intermittent outpour of the Hertfordshire Bourne, so
well described by Mr. Evans in a paper read about two years ago
before the members of this Society*-' — it crosses Boxmoor, and
eventually joins the Gade above the paper mill at Two Waters.

And now a few words about the Gade. As far as I have been
able to ascertain by a careful reference to sundiy old maps, the
source of the Gade has varied but very little for several centuries.
^Neither railway nor canal has ever yet intruded upon its secluded
haunts, or ventured to interfere with the quiet operations of
Nature. As the name implies, it rises in the parish of Great
Gaddesden, in ordinary years at a point not far distant from the
church, but in wet seasons it occasionally makes its appearance
considerably higher in the valley. In the month of February,
1877, a strong spring burst out from the side of the hill near the
Lambsey homestead, and flooded the Dagnall road for nearly a
mile.

The head of the Gade is about five miles distant from the source
of that branch of the Ouzel which rises near Totternhoe, and
about four miles from that of the Bulborne at Dudswell. After
leaving Great Gaddesden and passing the picturesque hamlet of
Water End, the Gade pursues its course along the valley of Hemel
Hempstead by Marlowes to Two Waters. At Two Waters it more
than doubles its volume by a confluence with the Bulborne, and,
passing onwards by Kash Mills, King's Langiey, Hunton Bridge,
Cassiobury Park, and Croxley Hall, falls into the Colne a little
above Eickmansworth. Mr. Evans considers that the valleys of
the Bulborne and the Gade were both mapped out in a pre-glncial
period, but it is probable that the gap in the Chalk hills at Dagnall,
and the depression in the same formation at Park Hill, near the
Tring railway station, are due, at any rate, in some degree to the
chemical dissolution and abstraction of the chalk by the four rivers
which take their rise in the two localities.

In order to demonstrate that this process is still in active opera-
tion, I have attempted to gauge the quantity of water which
passes down the Gade at Hunton Bridge, and I think that it cannot
avei'age less than 30,000 gallons per minute. Professor Attficld,
who has kindly assisted me by analysing a portion of this water,
and also by sending me an analysis of some water taken from a
well which is sunk in the neighbouring chalk, informs me that

* 'Transactions,' Vol. I, p. 13".

1 1 G J. E. LITTLEBOY — THE BULBOKXE AND GADE,

every gallon of the river water contains about twelve grains of car-
bonate of lime, and six grains of other calcareous matter. The
whole of the carbonate of lime, together with a small portion of
sulphate, is precipitated by boiling, and this fact will explain the
origin of the incrustation that accumulates in culinary utensils in
which such water is boiled. It follows, therefore, if my calculation
of the volume of water passing Hunton Bridge is correct, that an
aggregate quantity of more than 18,000 tons of chalk is annually
abstracted from the surrounding Chalk formation and carried
away by the water of the Gade, to be again precipitated, or,
by the organic agency of minute Foraminifera, to form, in some
far-off submarine region, a new Cretaceous deposit, possibly the
incipient chalk hills of ages yet to come. I find, by reference to
Professor Attfield's analysis, that a gallon of water taken from the
chalk well to which I have alluded contains six grains of calcareous
matter over and above the quantity found to exist in water taken
from the Gade ; bvit this is easily accounted for by the large
quantity of surface drainage which that river receives during its
course downwards, the water springing from the Chalk formation
becoming, in this manner, more or less diluted.

I extract the following sentence, which seems so aptly to bear
on this subject, from Mr. Evans' work on 'Ancient Stone Imple-
ments' (page 591): — " Taking the calculation of 17 grains of bi-
carbonate of lime to the gallon, it will be found, by calculation,
that every inch of rain which falls over a square mile of chalk
country, and passes olf by springs, carries with it, in solution and
without in the slightest degree interfering with its brightness, no
less than from 15 to 16 tons of solid chalk."

I now proceed to the consideration of the second portion of my
subject, viz. the different varieties of fish which frequent the two
rivers I have attempted to describe.

Baron Cuvier has divided all fishes into two great series : 1st,
the Osseous Scries, or those which possess a bony skeleton ; 2nd,
the Cartilaginous Series, or those which possess a cartilaginous
skeleton. He further subdivides these series into six orders, based
principally on the nature and texture of the fins, four belonging to
the osseous and two to the cartilaginous series.

Into the particulars of these divisions I do not propose to enter.
All the fish which are likely to claim our attention this evening,
with the single exception of the lamprey, belong to the first or
osseous series.

I have already stated that the rivers Bult)orne and Gade become
incorporated, at difi^erent times, with the Grand Junction Canal.
It is therefore necessary, when considering the fishes of the two
streams, to include all those which have been taken or observed in
that portion of the canal through which they pass. I shall com-
mence with the smaller varieties.

The Three-spined Siickleba.ck [Gasteroste us trachurus). — First
upon my list is the rough-tailed, or three-spined, stickleback, and
in several respects this tiny creature ranks amongst the most

WITH NOTES ON THEIK PISH. 117

interesting and intelligent of its class. It appears to be instinc-
tively pngnacious, and, being armed on the back with three sharp
spines, which it can raise or depress at pleasure, it is able to
protect itself, in no inconsiderable degree, from the attacks of other
fish.

Sticklebacks are extremely tenacious of life, and may be kept in
glass tanks or globes with little or no difficulty. "When thus held
in captivity, it is often very amusing to watch their proceedings.
One of the little tyrants will frequently attempt to appropriate a
particular portion of the water for his exclusive use, and when this
is the case, woe to the imfortunate intruder that happens to invade
his territory. A battle royal is almost certain to ensue, and, not
content with the victory, the conqueror will still continue to chase
his victim about the tank in the most relentless manner. It is
stated by a writer in the ' Magazine of Natural History,'* that he
once saw a stickleback, during a battle of this description, which
took place in a wooden tub, "absolutely rip his opponent quite
open so that he sank to the bottom and died."

Sticklebacks are abundant almost everywhere, and the Gade is
no exception to the general rule. Any of my audience who may
incline to test their pugnacious capabilities, by placing a walking-
stick in the middle of a small shoal of them, will tind that the
little warriors commence almost immediately to charge the stick
with such fury that their attacks are distinctly perceptible to the
hand. The stickleback is distinguished, among English fishes, by
its capacity for nest-building. Those who incline carefully to
watch, during the months of April or May, a gravelly reach of the
Bulborne or the Gade, can hardly fail to witness this very interesting
operation. The tiny fish appear to collect small pieces of stick,
wet moss, or weeds, and by inserting these among minute particles
of sand and gravel, a nest is at last completed that may frequently
be lifted out of the water without a collapse ; it is about the size
of a shilling, and the ova are deposited in it through a hole left at
the top.

The Minnow {Leuciscus Phoxinus). — "With the exception of the
stickleback, the minnow is the smallest of our English fish, and to
this fact it is probably indebted for its name. When in good
condition it is extremely handsome, its back and sides generally
assuming a dusky olive colour, but when seen in a favourable light
appearing to be exquisitely shot with blue, its belly also varying
from a brilliant red to yellow, and frequently to a pearly white.

The minnow is invariably found to put in an appearance not
later than the month of March, and continues more or less abun-
dant till the approach of winter. During the winter months it is
rarely to be met with, and is supposed to betake itself for protection
and shelter to the roots of weeds, to the banks of the streams that
it frequents, and to other hiding places ; it is easily tamed, and,
when kept in a glass globe, will feed readily from the hand.

* As quoted by Yarrell, ' British Fishes,' vol. i, p. 78.

118 J. E. UTTLEBOY — THE LULBOENE AND GADE,

Minnows are considered by connoisseurs to be very palatable.
The following receipt for cooking them is given by Izaak Walton ;
it may possibly interest our lady members : — ' ' Let the fish be gutted
and well washed in salt and water, cut off both heads and tails,
then fry in good butter, adding to it the yoke of eggs in which the
flowers of the cowslip and primrose have been well beaten." When
thus cooked they are said to equal or even excel the whitebait.

The Loach [Cohitis harhatula). — Although not particularly
abundant, the loach is a constant frequenter of our streams. It
but rarely rises to the surface of the water, and appears to prefer a
hiding place by the side or under the shelter of stones. Like
many of the Carp family, the body of the loach is invested with
a thick mucous secretion, and, in common with the barbel and
gudgeon, it possesses a fringe of barbules round its mouth. It is
about three inches long, its mouth is small, and it has no teeth.
Mr. Yarrell informs us ^' that the loach appears to be particularly
restless and sensitive before a coming storm, and that in olden
times it was commonly preserved in vessels as a living barometer.
I may also state on the authority of the same author that all ground
fish — and those furnished with barbules may invariably be classed
under this head — possess but a low standard of respiration and a
high degree of muscular irritability, and that the restless move-
ments of the loach during a thunderstorm must be attributed to its
great susceptibility to any change in the electrical conditions of
the medium in which it moves.

The loach, like the minnow, is considered by many to be a
dainty. It is occasionally preserved in the same manner as ancho-
vies, and has frequently been transported by amateurs to difi-erent
parts of Europe.

The Miller's Thumb {Cottus Gohio). — The river bullhead, or
miller's thumb, is a small dark-coloured fisli from three to five
inches long. It is an ugly disagreeable-looking creature, its head
and mouth being disproportionately large, and the latter thickly
set with minute spiny teeth. It prefers to frequent gravelly
streams, keeps close to the bottom, and, generally hiding beneath
the shelter of stones, is but very rarely observed.

The head of the fish, says Mr. Yarrell, f "is said to resemble
exactly the form of the thumb of a miller, as produced by a
peculiar and constant action of the muscles in the exercise of a
particular and most important part of his occupation." One
shrinks from questioning, even in the smallest degree, the
autliority of Mr. Yarrell, but to this anecdote I am inclined to
add the remark, " Interesting, if true."

The Gudgeon [Gobio fluviatilis). — The gudgeon is very abundant
both in the Bidborne and the Gade. It is a pretty little fish, three
to five inches in length, is furnished with a short barbule at each
angle of its mouth, and is of an olive-brown colour, spotted with
black.

* ' Eritish Fishes,' vol. i, p. 377. t lb- vol. i, p. 57.

"WITH NOTES ON THEIR FISH.

119

Gudgeons are, in habit, gregarious, and during the early spring
large shoals of them frequent the waters of the Gade at Hunton
liridge. ^yhen watching them from the little bridge that crosses
our Avaste-water, I have often noticed that the gravelly bottom of
the stream was completely obscured by them, any attempt accu-
rately to estimate their number being altogether impossible. In-
termixed among the gudgeons, immense numbers of minnows are
frequently observable ; they swim about together in an apparently
indiscriminate manner ; but when disturbed, the gudgeons will
almost always sail olf in one direction, while the minnows select
another. The gudgeon is rarely to be met with during the winter
months. Mr. Rooper, as stated in his interesting work, ' The
Thames and Tweed' (p. 27), believes that they retire to deep
holes, probably remaining duriug the winter in a semi-torpid
state.

Every one tells me that when cooked properly the gudgeon is a
honne houche not to be surpassed by any freshwater fish. I am
sorry to confess, notwithstanding the thousands that frequent our
stream, that I have never yet tasted one.

The Bleak {Leuciscus Alhurnus). — I have not been fortunate in
meeting with this little fish in the neighbourhood of Hunton
Bridge, but I am informed that it is abundant below the Swiss
Cottage, and I believe that it is yet to be met with above Berk-
hampstead. The bleak has frequently been described as the fresh-
water sprat ; it is a lively, active little creature, and affords
excellent practice for the youthful fly-fisher. In appearance it
somewhat resembles the dace, but is smaller and more slim than
the generality of that species, and can readily be distinguished
from it by the backward position of the dorsal fin, and its more
decidedly swallow-shaped tail. The prevailing colour of its back
is a light green, but its sides and belly are of a shining silvery
white.

The bleak is esteemed as a delicacy for table use ; but in olden
times it was considered to be especially valuable as affording a
maUriel for the manufacture of artificial pearls. Mr. Yarrell
describes this manufacture as follows : * "On the inner surface of
the scales of roach, dace, bleak, whitebait, and other fishes, is
found a silveiy pigment, which gives the lustre these scales
possess. Advantage has been taken of the colouring matter thus
afforded to imitate artificially the Oriental pearl. . . . The method
of obtaining and using the colouring matter was, first carrying
off the slime and dirt from the scales by a run of water ; then
soaking them for a time, the pigment Avas found at the bottom
of the vessel. When thus produced small glass tubes were dipped
in, and the pigment injected into thin blown hollow glass beads
of various forms and sizes." So great was the consumption of
bleak scales for this purpose, that one Paris manufacturer is
stated to have used in the course of a single winter thirty hampers
of bleak.

* lb. vol. i, p. 369.

120 J. E. IIXTLEBOY — THE BULBOIINE AND GADE,

If Dr. Lister, on ■whose authority this statement is made, had
been good enough to mention the size of the said hampers, a better
estimate of the total quantity consumed might certainly have been
formed.

The Dace {Leuciscus vulgaris). — The dace is one of the most
abundant and universally distributed of English fishes. At
Hunton Bridge we have literally thousands of them. They appear
to be always on the move, and shoals of them may constantly be
seen parading our watercourses. Dace will frequently rise to an
artificial fly, and during the past summer I have seen many of
them taken in this manner. They spawn in the months of May
and June, and during the past six weeks mpiads of the small fry,
three-quarters of an inch to an inch in length, might be observed
in our stream.

The Eoach {Leuciscus Rutilus). — Similar in general appearance
to the dace, and its almost constant companion, is the roach. Both
these fishes are gregarious, and, as far as I have been able to
observe, they fraternise with each other on the most amicable of
terms. A shoal of dace can rarely be found without having
amongst its number a considerable proportion of roach, and the
converse position of affairs is, I believe, equally general.

The roach is, generally speaking, both larger and coarser than
the dace ; it is deeper in the belly, and its back is more decidedly
convex. It is stated that roach weighing as much as two or three
pounds have been occasionally caught in the Thames. Mr. Rooper
reports having landed one that weighed a pound. I believe that
in the Bulborne and Gade they but rarely exceed eight to ten
ounces.

The Chub [Leuciscus Cejyhalus). — But few chub are to be met
with either in the Bulborne or the higher reaches of the Gade ;
they appear to become more numerous as the river increases in
volume, and below King's Langley they may be observed in large
numbers. Except when basking on a shallow, they prefer to
frequent the deeper portion of the stream, but they rise greedily to
a large fly or cockchafer, and though very inferior in pluck and
activity to the trout, will often aftbrd considerable sport to the
angler.

Chub weighing from two to three pounds have frequently been
taken from the Gade at Hunton Bridge, and if we may believe the
newspapers, a six-pounder was recently captured at Lady Capel's
wharf.

Dace, roach, and chub are often to be seen swimming about
together, but it is easy to distinguish the one from the other by
their colour. The tails and fins of the dace are of a light self-
colour, nearly matching the colour of the water ; those of the
roach are distinctly tinted with red, and those of the chub are
much darker than those of either of its companions. It may also
be noted that dace are generally observable near the surface of the
water. The roach occupies a middle position, and the chub, as I
have before said, aff'ects deeper water.

■WITH NOTES Oy THEIE FISn. 121

The chub is a coarse, plebeian-looking fish, with a large clumsy
head : a fine specimen, weighing about 4lbs., has been kindly lent
for exhibition by Mr. Moon.

I have already alluded to the nests of the stickleback. This
pretty little creature appears to surpass all its fellows in the art of
nidification ; but it is well known that the chub, the dace, the
roach, the trout, and several other fish carefully prepare their
spawning-beds. All who have strolled along the banks of the
Gade during the spring months must have noticed that the gravelly
bottom in certain portions of the stream was completely laid bare
and almost ploughed into ridges. These ridges are the work of
the fish that I have just mentioned. I believe that they are made
principally by the female, and that she accomplishes this engineer-
ing feat by the vigorous action of her tail ; after depositing her
ova, she is said* to throw herself on her side, and, by a renewed
action of the tail, effectually to cover them. The extraordinary
quantity of the ova thus deposited is graphically described by Mr.
Francis, f He states that during the month of May a shallow in
the Thames near Marlow was completely blackened by a shoal of
large fish engaged in depositing their spawn. As soon as the fish
left, a troop of about five-and-twenty swans, led by a patriarchal
old villain, came sailing up the river, and immediately commenced
ripping up the spawning-beds and devouring the spawn. For ten
days these swans gorged themselves to repletion night and day,
and, "I believe," says Mr. Francis, "that they must have
devoured in that time a small boat load of spawn."

The Peech {Perca fluviatilis). — With the exception of the trout,
the perch is decidedly the most handsome and distinguished in
appearance of all our fresh-water fish. Like the chub, it prefers
deep water, and as it slowly floats along the bottom, it presents to
the observe!', with its beautifully-striped zebra-like body and sharp
prickly fins, as striking and interesting a picture as our streams can
anywhere afford.

The perch is abundant in most rivers ; at Hunton Eridge it
attains a considerable size, and I venture to direct your attention
to two fine specimens taken last winter, within a stone's throw of
my garden. Mr. Eooper records a very curious fact in reference
to this fish. He writes as follows :J — "I have hardly, if ever,
opened a fish that did not prove to be a female, and, at whatever
time of the year, always with spawn fully developed, yet the
spawning time of the perch is in April or May."

The Ettffe [Acerina vulgaris). — Closely allied to the perch, but
smaller, and distinguished from it by the brown spots that abound
on the upper portion of its body, and by its continuous dorsal fin,
is the rufte or pope. I have never seen a specimen of this fish, but
Mr. Fry informs me that he has succeeded in capturing several.

The Ekeam (Abramis Brama). — I believe that this fish is only

* Hamilton, ' British Fishes,' vol. i, p. 101. t ' Fish Culture,' p. 203.

X ' Thames and Tweed,' p. 51.

122 J. E. LITTLEBOr — THE BtTLBOENE AND GADE,

to be met with in the lower reaches of the Gade. I am fortunate
in being able to exhibit two good specimens, which have been
recently taken. It will be observed that, in appearance, the bream
is by no means elegant, the Unes of both tlie back and the belly
being nnnsually convex.

Tlie bream is supposed to find its most congenial habitat in
ponds and muddy rivers. It is possible that the few which are
occasionally taken in the clear waters of our gravelly Gade may
have found their way upwards from its junction with the Colne.
A remarkably fine bream, 5lbs. in weight, was successfully landed
not long since by Mr. Moon ; another, weighing 3lbs., by Mr. Fry.

The Tench {Tinea vulgaris). — This coarse sleepy -looking fish
frequents, for the most part, pits, ponds, and dull sluggish streams
with muddy bottoms, and were it not that the Bulborne and the
Gade become, at different places, incorporated in the pounds of the
Grand Junction Canal, it is hardly probable that the tench would
have been counted among their fishes. I am informed that at
Boxmoor tench are tolerably abundant, and two were recently
taken at King's Langley.

Most of my audience will have heard of a curious tradition
which for hundreds of years past has smTounded the tench with a
halo of mysterious interest. This fish was believed by the Romans
to possess curative properties of an extraordinary character; not
only was it supposed to act as a physician among its fellows, but
its healing qualities were believed to be applicable to mankind.
I find it recorded that the Jewish physicians, who formerly
practised at E-ome, were accustomed to apply a tench, cut open, to
the feet of patients sufi'ering from fever ; but whether the treat-
ment was found to be efficacious I know not. I believe it to be a
fact that for some unexplained reason the tench is invariably
allowed to pass unmolested by other fish ; but whether it enjoys
this immunity from a devout respect engendered by the exercise of
healing power, or, as is more probable, from a dislike to the slimy
mucus with which its body is enveloped, I cannot pretend to say.
I have seen it stated in a periodical that " a trimmer, baited with a
small tench, may remain night after night in the most favourable
locality without attracting the attention of either pike or eel."
The following rhymes are extracted from ' The Piscatory Dialogues
of Mr. Diaper ' : —

" The Pike, fell tyrant of the liquid plain,

With ravenous waste, devours his fellow train ;
Yet howsoe'er he be with famine pined,

The Tench he spares, respectful to his kind.

' ' For when by wounds distressed, or sore disease,
He courts the salutary fish for ease,
Close to his scales the kind physician glides.
And sweats a healing balsam from his sides."

• The Common Trout [Salmo Fario). — Forty years ago trout
abounded both in the Bulborne and the Gade. In the upper
reaches of the Bulborne, between Berkhampstead and Bourne End,

WITH NOTES ON TnEIE FISH. 123

and again at Boxmoor, I remember them being taken by expert
anglers in abundance. As a boy I have often captured several
brace, in a few minutes, by wadiug in the river below the Bourne
End Mill, and feeling for the fish with my hands in the holes and
crevices of the walls and woodwork. At present I am afraid there
are but very few remaining in the localities I have mentioned,
several causes ha"v*ing combined to assist in their extermination.
The large artificial watercress-beds below Northchurch, affording,
as they do, constant employment to numbers of working men, in
close proximity to the river, are probably by no means favourable
to the preservation of trout. At Berkhampstead the population
has of late rapidly increased. The Back Ditch, to which I have
before alluded, pours its load of drainage into the Bulborne at the
upper mill, and I am informed by its occupier, Mr. Cook, that
not only fish, but even ducks are poisoned by it. Excepting the
grayling, the trout is the most sensitive and delicate of fish, and its
absence from this portion of the river is thus readily explained.
I believe there are a few yet to be met with about Bourne End and
Boxmoor ; but even in the most favoured reaches of the river their
number is very limited. The upper portion of the Gade, extending
from Great Gaddesden to Marlowes, and traversing the properties
of Lord Brownlow, Mr. Halsey, Sir Astley Cooper, and others, is
strictly preserved ; and were it not for the privileged efforts of a
few inveterate anglers, these charming waters might well constitute
for the trout a very paradise. 'I'lie drainage from the town of
Hemel Hempstead does not appear to be so destructive to the trout
of the Gtide as is that of Berkhampstead to those of the Bulborne ;
at Marlowes there may still be seen a fair quantity of beautiful fish,
but very few are to be met with below the paper mills. A trout
weighing 7jlbs. is reported to have been taken some years ago at
Nash Mills. At Hunton Bridge the trout of the stream Avere
formerly carefully preserved by Mr. Carpenter, and until recently
five or six very fine ones, weighing from 2lbs. to 4lbs. each, were
almost always to be noticed at the foot of the water-wheel. They
were extremely tame, and would often leave their shelter to be fed.
Shall I be believed when I state that they were stolen by a person
who called himself a gentleman, and to whom, after pointing them
out, I had given permission to fish in another part of the stream ?

During last autumn two fine trout, weighing 6J and 6Albs.,
were taken in the canal, close to Hunton Bridge ; and through the
kindness of my neighbour, Mr. Burbidge — to whom I am also
indebted for my other stuffed specimens — I am pleased to be able
to exhibit them. They are, I believe, the largest fish which have
been taken in our portion of the river. Several years ago Mr.
King, of Wiggenhall, kindly presented me with about three
hundred tiny young lake trout ; I turned them into a run specially
prepared for them, and paid them every possible attention ; but
notwithstanding this only a few dozen survived, and when about
four inches long almost all of them escaped into the stream. I
have never since been able to identify any of them, but it is very

124 J. E. IITTLEBOY — THE BULBORXE AND GADE,

probable that the two now exhibited may have dcscendecl from
them. In both the Grove and Cassiobury Parks the trout of the
Gade are again carefully preserved. At the Swiss Cottage they
are abundant, and to lovers of Natural History, the ddight of
watching them, with their beautifully spotted sides, as they dart
with the rapidity of an arrow through the clear waters of the
Gade, constitutes at all times an absorbing object of interest, even
among the many attractions of that charming retreat. I am
inclined to think that it is impossible to observe the habits and
movements of the trout more advantageously than may be done
during a rise of the May-fly in this portion of the Gade. The
May-fly supplies to the trout the most attractive of baits, and as it
floats along the surface of the water, after commencing its short-
lived existence, it is sucked under with the utmost avidity by these
greedy creatures.

Before I bid adieu to the trout I will venture to relate an occur-
rence of which I was an eye-witness. A friend of mine residing
at High Wycombe succeeded in taming a fine trout. He was
constantly in the habit of feeding it, and it became so tame that
whenever he made his appearance it would approach the bank. We
thought that we would test its capacity, and Ave therefore supplied
it with a constant succession of medium-sized frogs. It did not
allow them a moment's respite ; the instant they touched the water,
there was a huge plunge and they were gone. In this manner
twelve were devoured without the smallest hesitation ; the thir-
teenth was played with for a few minutes, but eventually de-
molished. It was necessary to draw the line somewhere,' and the
fourteenth was allowed to reach the bank in safety.

The Pike {Esox Lucius). — The pike or jack is the largest of fresh-
water fish. It is abundant in every stream, and is so universally
known and easily recognised that I need not detain you by
describing its appearance. It is an extremely voracious fish,
greedily devouring, when hungry, almost anything or everything
that comes within its reach. It has frequently been termed — it
seems to me very appropriately — the " fresh- water shark." Schiller,
in one of the most beautiful of his ballads, has described the shark as

" The hyccna of Ocean,"

and I think my hearers will allow that the pike is a fitting repre-
sentative of its prototype.

Two years ago a gentleman at Hunton Bridge succeeded in
landing a pike that weighed 11 lbs. On being opened by the
cook it was fovmd to contain a moderate-sized water-rat, which
had been swallowed whole, and, except that it was dead, it had
suffered but little in appearance from its fatal adventure. On
another occasion a pike was captured, in the stream that divides
our garden, with a second pike only a little smaller than itself in
its mouth. It was quite unable either to swallow or disgorge its
victim, and when taken out of the water was as nearly dead as
possible.

"WITH NOTES ON THEIR FISH. 125

Mr. Rooper describes an occurrence which places the froj^j anecdote
I have just related altogether in the shade. He writes as follows* : —
"A gentleman who has no wish to communicate his name to the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, once threw
thirty young sparrows and starlings, one after the other, to a
large pike in a lake, and he seized and swallowed the last with as
much avidity as the first." Notwithstanding the gross appetite
of tlie pike, he appears equally to appreciate more delicate morsels.
He will seize young ducks when swimming on the stream, pull them
under in a moment, and instantly devour them. I have lost many
of my own ducklings in this manner. The pike is said to grow at
an unusually rapid pace ; he will attain to the length of eight or
ten inches in his first year, and will grow at the rate of 4 lbs. per
year for six successive years. f

As far as my own experience will guide me, I am inclined to
think that the pike of the Bulborne and the Gade attain to a
greater size at present than they did forty years ago. Is it possible
that the garbage which drains from our towns and villages, so
fatal to the existence of the delicate trout, affords a very congenial
food to the omnivorous pike ?

The Common Eel {A»f/Hil!a acutirostris). — Eels are tolerably
abundant in both the Bulborne and the Gade, but they prefer
muddier streams, and are, I believe, far more numerous in the
adjacent Colne. At Hunton Bridge, eels weighing as much as three
and three-and-a-half pounds have not unfrequently been taken.
Every one knows the distinguishing characteristics of the eel.
The words "as slippery as an eel" have passed into a proverb,
and its extraordinary tenacity of life is equally notorious. It is
probable that it may owe the latter characteristic to its semi-
amphibious qualities. If kept in a damp place, it will live, out of
water, for several days ; and the fact that it will occasionally leave
the water and cross the damp grass of a meadow to a distant pond
is, I think, generally admitted.

In describing the loach I have already mentioned the extra-
ordinary muscular irritability which distinguishes ground fish.
This is the case to a very remarkable extent with the common eel,
and is said to explain its acute susceptibility to the influence of
atmospheric electricity. During a thunderstorm eels always dis-
play the greatest activity, and it is a curious fact that on these
occasions they invariably "run" "down stream." It is conjec-
tured that they do this to secure, if possible, the safety of deeper
water ; but the event is often found to falsify the anticipation.
At most of the dams and sluices on rivers in which eels abound,
traps are provided for catching them, and their career down-stream
is suddenly arrested by these fatal contrivances. At mill-dams
on the Thames large quantities of eels are often enough taken
in a single night ; and our President in his paper read last year

* ' Thames and Tweed,' p. 58.
t Hamilton, loc. cit, vol. ii, p. 80.

126 J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE BULBOENE AND GADE,

reported a take of three-huntlred weight on one occasion at the
Watford Mill.*

The eel was formerly supposed to supply a connecting link
between serpents and fishes. They are in reality perfectly distinct;
the skeleton and internal organs of the two animals diifering in
essential particulars. The following anecdote, the correctness of
which I can positively answer for, seems to indicate that it is
even yet possible to mistake the one for the other. A gentleman,
residing near London, possessed and petted two foreign snakes. One
morning both of them were missing, and, much to his chagrin,
could never again be found. Some days afterwards he accidentally
heard of an extraordinary incident which had occiirred next door.
Two live eels had appeared, so it was asserted, much to the
astonishment of the cook, upon the kitchen sink. His neighbour
informed him that he supposed they must have found their way
up the drain. "But," said he, "they were remarkably fine ones;
we had them cooked for dinner, and they turned out delicious."
Probably the advent of the two eels upon the kitchen sink of the
one house will satisfactorily explain the simultaneous disappear-
ance of the two tame snakes Irom the adjoining establishment.
Surely there is abundant truth in the old English proverb —
" Where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise."

The Lampeejt or E,iver Lamprey [Petromyzon fluviatilis). — I
have been able to obtain but little information respecting this
ungainly and worm-like-looking fish. I believe it to be tolerably
abundant in the Gade. Two years ago a small lampern found its
way through the iron pipe that supplies water to my fernery, and
remained in the little basin for several days ; on one occasion,
when disturbed, it left the water and attempted to climb the stones
which form the small rockwork, and at last managed completely to
hide itself from observation. Whether it succeeded in reaching the
canal I cannot tell, but I never again saw it. At Cassio Bridge
the lamprey is abundant. Groups of more than a score may some-
times be seen in the watercress-beds of that locality ; they appear
to fasten themselves to the bottom by suction, and their bodies
wriggle about in continuous motion. Thames lamperns were
formerly sold to Dutch fishermen, by the thousand, as a bait for
cod, turbot, and other fish.

Crayfish and mussels do not belong to the class now under con-
sideration, the former is a crustacean, the latter a mollusc ; but
while treating of the Natural History of the Gade, perhaps I may
be allowed to state that, during the past summer, crayfish have
been unusually abundant in the stream at Hunton Bridge. Our
table has on more than one occasion been ornamented with a hand-
some dish of them, and a more delicate relish it is difficixlt to meet
with. I may further state that whenever the water of the canal is
drawn down a largo quantity of mussels is always to bo found. I
asked a workman the other day whether he thought that most of

* ' Transactions,' Vol. I, p. 177.

"WlXn NOTES ON THEIE FISH. 127

them were alive. His reply set the matter satisfactorily at rest
— "If you please, sir, they've all got ' hoysters ' in them." I
have never ventured to taste the oysters referred to.

It will be noticed by those who are conversant with the fish of
other rivers that I have been compelled to omit two rather impor-
tant species from the catalogue I have just given.

The grayling, supposing that he possesses an ordinary sense of
propriety, ought surely to delight in frequenting the higher reaches
of the Gade. Along the charming valley, through which it flows,
the population is extremely limited, no drainage can pollute the
purity of the stream, it is carefully protected from the ravages of
the poacher, its current is sufficiently rapid to satisfy the most
fastidious of fish, and its clean gravelly bottom is not unfrequently
noticeable. ITotwithstanding the force of all these attractions, I
have never heard of grayling being taken either in the Bulborne
or Gade. I wish that it were possible to introduce them into these
waters, and I am inclined to think that the experiment, if properly
and carefully made, might be found to be successful.

The other species I have to refer to, is the barbel. This fish
is abundant in the Thames, where it grows to a great size ; but
it loves to frequent deep holes along the banks of large rivers,
and it need not surprise any one that it declines to patronise our
shallow sparkling Gade.

The art and practice of pisciculture has been ably treated by
our President, and I willingly leave the svibject in his hands ;
but I think that there are other phases connected with the Natural
History of fishes which have not as yet been brought before our
notice. I hope that some of these may claim the attention of our
members, and that on a future occasion they may be explained and
illustrated in this room by an abler pen than mine.

The scales of our fresh-water fishes, diflering as they do so
widely in form, in colour, and in texture, and affording distinct
characteristics of each individual species, are objects of infinite
interest, and I especially commend them to the notice of our
numerous microscopists. The periodical migration of fishes, their
varying colour, and the manner in which they assimilate to the
prevailing tint that surrounds them, are also subjects that would
well repay our careful consideration and study.

It has been commonly asserted that fish, of all living creatures,
are the most devoid of instinct. I do not, for one moment, believe
that they can compete in instinct with either birds or mammals,
but I hope that I have been able to adduce on their behalf a few
instances of undeniable intelligence. I must remind my hearers
that the fish exists in a medium altogether foreign to ourselves,
and it is extremely probable that we may fail, on this account,
fully to appreciate the finer susceptibilities of its nature.

When first I determined to collect the necessary information for
the paper I have now read to you, I little thought how strongly
I should be led onward by an almost resistless continuity of interest

128 J. E. LIXTLEBOY — THE BULBOEXE AND GADE.

to the consideration of kindred subjects, all intimately connected
with it ; and it seems to me that it is this most fascinating influence
which supplies to the study of Natural History its peculiar chaiTQ.
It is impossible to follow the windings of even a well-known
valley, or to explore the source of the little rivulet that so much
contributes to its beauty, without meeting at almost every step
new objects of interest as unlocked for as they are altogether
welcome. Again and again has the flora of the two streams
invited a more intimate acquaintance and tempted me to re-open
the pages of sundry botanical volumes, unfortunately neglected for
a quarter of a century. One treads on a piece of conglomerate that
juts a little into the current, in order, probably enough, the better
to observe the graceful movements of a bonny trout, and, before
one can retrace the step, aftVighted crayfish crawl out from beneath
its shelter, and a shoal of tiny minnows swim rapidly away.
There, too, attached with marvellous ingenuity to the sides of an
old oaken post which in days long gone by may have assisted in
supporting the bank, is the caddis-worm. Insects glide along over
the surface, water-beetles scud away right and left, and the little
river, which flows so silently before us, is found to be absolutely
replete with animal life. But beyond these, and more wonderful
than all, the sparkling waters of the Bulborne and the Gade, in
common with every stream that flows, are peopled by countless
myriads of living organisms, each supplying to the Entomologist an
object of unbounded interest. The very fish that I have attempted
to describe, subsist, for the most part, on animalculse so small that
one can distinguish them only by the aid of the microscope ; and
yet we may, I think, confidently believe that not one amongst
them all remains unheeded or uncared for by the Almighty Power
that fashioned it, or fails to perform its individual purpose in the
plan of Natiire.

" My heart is awed within me when I think
Of the great miracle that still goes on
In silence round me ; — the perpetual
AVork of thy creation, finished, yet renewed
For ever."

129

19. — The ORrGrN and Present Disteibtjtion of the British

Flora.

By the Rev. George Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S.,
Lecturer ou Botany at St. Bartholomew's Hospital.

[A Lecture delivered lOth October, 1878.]

Although climate is the most essential element to be taken
into account when the distribution of the plants of any flora is to
be considered, yet as that of our own country at the present time
is so well known, it will be superfluous to describe it in detail.*
All that will be necessary is to compare it, or rather contrast it
generally, as being insular and maritime, with that of the Con-
tinent ; and then to see what differences may be expected to exist
between the flora of Great Britain and that of Europe.

The chief difference between all maritime or insular and conti-
nental climates lies in the predominance of moisturef in the air of
the former and in the greater degree of dryness in that of the
latter. The immediate effect of watery vapour is to moderate the
heat in summer by arresting its passage from the sun, and similarly
to arrest its radiation at night and in winter. The consequence is
that maritime and insular climates are far less subject to extremes
of temperature, diurnal or annual, than are places situate away
from a sea-board and many miles in the interior of a continent.
Another very important agent in affecting the climate is the pre-
valence of aerial and ocean currents ; warm in ameliorating, cold
in deteriorating it, as far as the magnitude and vitality of any
flora may be concerned. This is particularly the case with the
British Isles; for, were it not for the warm currents both of air
and water sweeping past us in a north-easterly direction across the
Atlantic, our climate would be very likely to be as inhospitable as
is that on the same latitudes in America.

Perhaps few places could be better chosen to illustrate the above
statements than Edinburgh and Moscow. Thus, while the differ-
ence between the hottest and coldest months of the year is under
30^ for Edinburgh, it amounts to 60^ for Moscow ; and, it may be

* The -word climate must be taken to represent the aggregate environment of
plants included under: — 1. Latitude; 2. Elevation above the sea j 3. JMaritime
or insular or continental position; 4. Inclination of land; 5. Mountainous
country or otherwise ; 6. Character of soil ; 7. Condition of soU, wet or diy, etc. ;
8. Degree of cultivation; 9. Prevalent winds ; 10. Rainfall; 11. Mean summer
and mean winter temperatures, etc.

t As an illustration of the effect of moisture upon the distribution of plants,
may be mentioned the fact that tropical forms extend into subtropical regions, if
damp; as in South America: e.^., tree-ferns, epiphytal orchids, Myrtacece, etc.
Similarly the laurel, fig, and bamboo ascend the humid extra-tropical mountains
of Bengal and Sikkhim to 9000 feet ; while on the other hand, a temperate flora,
consisting of Qucrciis, SaHx, Rosa, Prunns, Riilius, Camellia, finus, etc., descends
to the sea in lat. 25" in India. — /. D. Hooker.

VOL. II.— PT. IV. 10

130 EEV. G. HENSLOW — OKIGIN AND DISTRIBTJTION

added, for 'Nam, on the cocast of Labrador, it is 50°, and for Cape
Churchill, on the west coast of Hudson's Bay, the difference is
even 80°. All the above places are very nearly on the same parallel
of latitude. Again, if we take winter and summer temperatures,
we find that for July the mean at London is over 62° ; at Berlin,
66° ; at St. Petersburgh, 64° ; and at Astrakhan, 77°. While for
January at London it is 37° ; at Berlin, 28° ; at St. Petersburgh,
1 6° ; and at Astrakhan it is 1 3°. Similarly in Cumberland (North
America), in the latitude of Edinburgh, the winter temperature is
— 13°, the summer temperature being +62°,

If we consider the temperature of places in the west of Europe,
we soon see how important is the influence of warm aerial currents
in regulating and ameliorating them; thus, at Hammerfest (lat. 71°),
in Norway, the mean winter temperature is 22°, while in the
same latitude in Greenland it is 5 degrees below zero. Again, the
temperature at

Caithness 58 deg. N.L. is 36 deg. in January

Labrador ,, ,, ,, — 4 ,,

Lisbon 39 ,, ,,47 ,,

Chesapeake Bay ,, ,, ,, — 36 ,,

And the temperature at

Edinburgh 56 deg. N.L. is 37 deg. in January

Bergen (jN'orway) 60 ,, ,,32 ,,

Jakutsk 62 ,, ,, — 36 ,,

In the latter group of places we see the great contrast between the
temperature of an inland site, such as Jakutsk, and that of the
maritime coast of the west of Europe, which is swept by warm
currents.

Now, the most obvious effect that such differences of temperature
have on plants is that a continental climate is favourable to annuals
and a maritime to perennials ; for in places where a summer tem-
perature rises high, plants, whose whole life-history is comprised
in a few months or even weeks, may easily, therefore, survive ;
while the intensely cold winters of the same place would annihilate
many perennials that would flourish in a less rigorous climate.
Hence evergreen shrubs of South Europe, such as the laurustinus
and bay laurel, will survive our winters, which are rarely
excessive, yet the climate in summer and autumn is quite insuffi-
cient in its degree of heat to ripen efficiently the grape or Indian
corn ; for the summers are as equally tempered as the winters.

The British flora, as might, therefore, be expected, contains a
large amount of perennials, especially, perhaps, herbaceous ones.
Many annuals, being weeds of cultivation only, would be probably
more or less exterminated if our arable land should cease to be
cultivated.

In reviewing our flora as a whole, in some respects it may be
regarded as insular in character, thougli in others it is continental ;
that is to say, there is no plant which is peculiar to it, and with
rare exceptions every member of it belongs to the neighbouring
Continent of Europe. As, however, we are at present insular, it

OF THE BRITISH FLORA. 131

■will be as well to consider what are the characters of an insnlar
flora, and then see how far they agi'ee with that of Great Britain
and Ireland. Sir Joseph Hooker, in his lecture on " Insular
Floras" (reprinted in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' Jan. 1867), tells
us that the relationships between oceanic island floras are of two
kinds, as follows : —

I. A relationship of analogy between themselves, due to physical
conditions common to all. These may be enumerated as follows ; —

1. They are rich in ferns, mosses, and other flowerless plants.

2. They have many evergreens.

3. They have few herbaceous plants.

4. Th