Chapter XIII: Part 13

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOTE S.
THE SHREW, page 104.

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

NOTE T.
THE MOLE, (_talpa Europea_) p. 104.

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

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

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

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

NOTE U.
BIRDS OF ENGLAND, page 109.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_The Cuckoo, cuculus cauvus._—This bird, extremely common in England, has a grayish plumage varied with black and white. Mr. Mudie seems to doubt the assertion usually made that they _never_ build nests of their own. In the northern states we have two cuckoos, very different in their appearance and habits from those of Europe, nor are they very common birds in this country.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_The Titmouse, parus._—The titmice are dispersed more or less over the whole world, excepting some portions of the southern hemisphere, as South America, and New Holland. In England, they have seven or eight different species: the great tit, _p. major_; colemouse, _p. ater_; marshtit, _p. palustris_; long-tailed tit, _p. caudatus_; blue tit, _p. cæruleus_; bearded tit, _p. biarmicus_; crested tit, _p. cristatus_. In the United States, we have three species: the common chicadee, _p. atricapillus_; the caroline titmouse, _p. carolinensis_; and the crested titmouse, _p. bicolor_. This last is found in Europe also, but in England it is very rare. All three species belong to the birds of New York.

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

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

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

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

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

NOTE V.
THE HOUSE FLY, (_musca carnaria_,) p. 151.

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

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

NOTE W.
THE ROBIN, page 164.

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

“But now with treble oft,
“The redbreast whistles from some garden croft,
“And gathering swallows twitter in the air.

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

NOTE X.
THE GOLDFINCH, (_fringilla carduelis_) p. 167.

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

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

NOTE Y.
THE SKY-LARK, (_alanda arvensis_) p. 184.

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

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

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

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

NOTE Z.
THE WINTER GNAT, (_tipula hiemalis_) p. 189.

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

NOTE AA.
BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS, page 192.

Mr. Knapp mentions in his journal the following butterflies and moths: The sulphur or brimstone, _gonepteryx rhamni_, (see Note M;) ghost moth, _hepialus humuli_; blue argus, _papilio argus_; painted lady, _papilio cardui_; marble butterfly, _p. galathea_; humming bird hawk-moth, _sphinx stellatarum_; brown meadow butterfly, _p. janira_; the admirable _vanessa atalanta_; peacock, _vanessa Io_; gamma moth, _phalæna gamma_; goat moth, _ph. cossus_; blue argus butterfly, _papilio argiolus_.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The peacock butterfly is unknown in America.

NOTE BB.
THE GLOW-WORM, (_lampyris noctiluca_) p. 206.

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOTE CC.
THE SLOW-WORM, (_anguis fragilis_) p. 210.

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

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

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

NOTE DD.
THE DORR, OR CLOCK-BEETLE, (_geotrupes stercorarius_) p. 217.

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOTE EE.
THE DEATH’S-HEAD MOTH, (_acherontia atropos_) p. 222.

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

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

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

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

NOTE FF.

“AMERICAN BLIGHT,” (_aphis lanata_) p. 236.

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

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

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

NOTE GG.
THE HOLLY, (_Ilex_) p. 247.

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

NOTE HH.
TO WILT, page 249.