252 



HAflDWlCKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



the last ceutury, and had at that time the reputation 

 of having the most surprising command over bees. 

 He was accustomed to exhibit himself, surrounded 

 with his bees, before the King and divers of the 

 nobility. " Thus fortified, bulldogs have been set 

 at him by his own desire, when he repulsed them 

 by detaching one or two bees, to the astonishment 

 of all who have seen him." He was offered a 

 hundred guineas as a reward [if he would disclose 

 the secret, which he refused to do. 



All the tricks of this man were explained by 

 Major Munn. "VYildman's apparent command over 

 bees was simply owing to his using only queen 

 bees ; and these could not sting him. Possessed of 

 his secret, he could handle the bees fearlessly and 

 detach them against the dogs, who, when the insects 

 were entangled in their hair, were frightened by 

 their buzzing. 



COMPARATIVE SIZE OP POLLEN-GRAINS. 



ITT 



X 120. 



rig. 151. Clematis. Fig. 152. Hollyhock. Fig. 153. CE!\othera. 



^ o 



Fig. 154. 

 Heath. 



Fig. 155. 

 Heartsease. 



Fig. 156. 

 Salvia. 



Fig. 157. 

 Uielytra. 



Fig. 158. 

 Poinsettia. 



Fig. 159. 

 Coreopsis. 



Fig. l6o. 

 Vetch. 



Fig. I6l. 

 Hyacinth. 



Fig. 162. Acacia. Fig. l63. Pelargonium. Fig. 164. Cactus. 



rriHE comparative sizes of pollen-grains maj^, 

 -^ perhaps, be of some interest, and though I am 

 an indifferent draughtsman, your readers may pos- 

 sibly recognize my attempts at delineating them. 

 The pollen of the clematis presents an liexagonal 

 structure, which it is dilEcult to represent on so 

 small a scale. The figures are all drawn under the 

 camera with ^ objective and A ocular. 



R. H. N. B. 



THE WALNUT MOTH. 



{Attacus luna, Eabr.) 



By ChaklesJC. Abbott, M.D. 



A LONG time ago it seems now, although 

 -^-*- really but a few short mouths, while I was 

 wandering about, with only a small bottle of alco- 

 hol, wherewith to preserve anything curious that I 

 might happen to come across— for I was not syste- 

 matically bunting for specimens of any kind — I 

 spied on a low branch of a walnut iJuglans) a very 

 pretty caterpillar. My first impulse was to pickle 

 it ; but then it occurred to me, the colours will all 

 fade ; and so, having no glycerine mixture at hand, 

 I concluded to simply watch it, and see how and 

 when it would spin its cocoon. 



This caterpillar was "pale bluish-green,— a yellow 

 stripe on each side of the body ; betvreen each 

 segment of the back a line of yellow ; on each 

 segment five or six small pearly protuberances, 

 tinged with purple or red, having a few hairs. At 

 the posterior end three brown spots, edged above 

 with yellow." (Morris.) 



This larva, when we found it, seemed very indis- 

 posed to move, but stretched himself out to about 

 three inches when we slightly pricked him with a 

 stiff blade of grass. 



It evidently was anxious to begin its cocoon, and 

 we were very willing that it should, and anxious to 

 observe the modus operandi. This is not so very 

 easy to do, however, for the [fine hair-like silk first 

 thrown out goes here and there, just as directed 

 by the caterpillar, and the first real indication of 

 what was going on, that we had, was in noticing 

 two leaves slowly approaching each other, and pre- 

 sently a third coming close to these. Close examin- 

 ation showed a multiplicity of silken threads binding 

 these leaves pretty firmly together ; firmly enough 

 to keep them in position under all ordinary circum- 

 stances of wind and weather. We had here to leave 

 the caterpillar and return home. It was a week 

 before we went again to the tree, and then, on 

 reaching the spot, we found a large oval cocoon 

 snugly fixed between the three leaves, spun of very 

 fine white silk, and everything in prime order, ac- 

 cording to the ideas of his larva-ship. We noted 

 down time and place, and determined to be around 

 when the silken curtain should rise {spUi, rather) 

 on a very different scene. 



Our very proper intentions, however, were not 

 exactly carried out, but on the 17th of July of this 

 year, while I was standing near this very walnut- 

 tree, my attention was drawn to a lad who was 

 wildly jumping about in the tall grass, waving his 

 hat and hand at some lively but, to me, unknown 

 object. A shout immediately after I first noticed 

 him, told me Willie had caught something strange ; 

 and when I reached him, a fine Attacus luna was 



