234 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



and the soothing influence of bird-music. How- 

 many fair ladies there are who can tell you the 

 style of any musical composer, living or dead, but 

 who know so little of God's sylvau performers, 

 that they still believe Jenny Wren to be the wife 

 of Cock Robin ; and how many gentlemen exist 

 who have heard and will remember every celebrated 

 player upon wind or stringed instruments, who 

 could not distinguish the song of Thrush from 

 Blackbird. I do not venture to blame ladies or 

 gentlemen when following the bent of their 

 festhetical tastes, but at the same time I do not 

 hesitate to tell them, that in preferring man- to 

 bird-music, they place the comparative before the 

 superlative, and choose that which, from its arti- 

 ficial surroundings, is very often prejudicial to 

 health, instead of that music which must be sought 

 in the open country, and which, whilst entrancing 

 with genuine melody, tends to develop a healthy 

 mind in a healthy body. I would observe, too, 

 that whatever the taste or age of the individual, 

 it is certain to be gratified ; for should the votary 

 be young, and filled with all the aspirations and 

 castle-building of youth, let him listen to the 

 Skylark, Wren, or Hedge-sparrow, and his highest 

 flights of imagination will be lost in wonder and 

 praise. Is he of middle age, when experience has 

 modified the visions of former years, let him be 

 melted with the notes of the Woodlark, Blackbird, 

 or Blackcap, and any tinge of disappointment or 

 sadness will be lost in the round volumes of music ; 

 and should he be even of advanced years, nunc 

 exacta cp.tate, the Robin, Wood-pigeon, and many 

 others will make him feel, by their plaintive strains, 

 that even the denizens of the wood show the 

 warmest sympathy with man in his gradual descent 

 towards the Silent Land : — 



" There is in souls a sympathy with sounds, 

 And as the mind is pitch'd, the ear is pleased 

 With melting airs or martial, brisk or grave : 

 Some chord in unison with what we hear 

 Is touched within us, and the heart replies." 



Erom the extreme joy I have ever found, and still 

 do find, in observing the beautiful hues of birds, 

 watching their amusing manners, and listening to 

 then- melodious songs, I do sincerely hope these 

 few remarks may induce some of the readers of 

 Science-Gossip to devote a part of their spare 

 time to them, and taste a pleasure free from all 

 alloy. — Joseph Drew, Nansladron. 



Large Tortoiseshell {Vanessa poli/chloros),&c. 

 — This butterfly, which is generally considered a 

 rare insect in this neighbourhood, has been taken 

 here (Norwich) in several instances this summer. I 

 hear from several of my friends that they have 

 taken specimens. One of them asserts that, whilst 

 out walking a few miles from here, he saw over a 

 dozen specimens, but not having his net w T ith him, 

 he was unable to capture any. Whilst out for a 



walk on Sunday, Aug. 13th, I saw a female alight 

 on the trunk of an elm-tree ; I had no net at the 

 time, but approaching it cautiously, 1 succeeded in 

 picking it off with my fore-finger and thumb, and 

 it proved a very fine specimen. Scarcely had I 

 secured it ere another specimen alighted on the 

 very identical spot, which I, however, failed to cap- 

 ture. In the absence of a box, I pinned it inside 

 my hat, and got it home in good condition. I also 

 captured another specimen whilst out entomo- 

 logizing on Aug. 16th. The generality of butter- 

 flies, I find, are scarce here this season; but I 

 cannot help noticing the extraordinary abundance 

 of the Large Cabbage (Pieris Brassicce), the males 

 by far outnumbering the females. — B. Laddiman, 

 St. Augustine's, Nonoich. 



Deiopeia pulchella at Brighton. — While 

 walking across a stubble-field to the west of 

 Brighton, my brother from Cambridge, who is a 

 non-entomologist, started an insect, which flew by 

 and settled within a few feet of me. I was so 

 struck with the appearance of the creature on the 

 wing that I uttered an exclamation, " Why, that's a 

 great rarity ! " Any of your readers who have ever 

 been in a similar situation will understand my wild 

 excitement while a net was being taken from the 

 pocket and fixed. It proved, upon being secured, 

 to be a magnificent specimen of D. pulchella, which, 

 judging from the brightness of its colouring, had 

 but recently emerged. It was shown alive to several 

 entomological and other friends, who were delighted 

 to see so beautiful an insect alive. 1 forgot to men- 

 tion it was taken at 10.15 a.m. Last evening my 

 friend Mr. Goss called on me, bringing Mr. Gor- 

 ringe, of Richmond-buildings, with him, who had 

 that afternoon, about three o'clock, taken a speci- 

 men of J), pulchella on the Race Hill. It was still 

 alive, but somewhat worn, as though it had been 

 out some days. It is rather singular that on the 

 last occasion when Pulchella was captured near 

 Brighton, two were taken. — T. IF. IFonfor, Brighton, 

 Sept. 12, 1871. 



The New Elephant Parasite.— Mr. Walker, 

 in creating the genus Idolocoris for this insect, is 

 apparently unaware that the name is already occu- 

 pied, having been applied to a genus of Hemiptera 

 Heteroptera by Messrs. Douglas and Scott, in their 

 " British Hemiptera," published in 1865. As, of 

 course, the same name cannot be used for two 

 different genera in the same order (or, for that 

 matter, in the class Iusecta), Idolocoris, Walker, 

 must give place to Idolocoris, D. & S., and some 

 other generic name be used for the Elephant Para- 

 site. I therefore propose the name Phantasmo- 

 coris. I should not have written to you on this 

 subject had I not seen, from Mr. Richter's note in 

 the September number, that the name Idolocoris has 

 not been withdrawn.— F. Buchanan White, M.D. , 



