HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



87 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



I HAD another very pleasant "field day" at 

 Heidelberg, about a week after that referred to 

 at page 217, vol. xxiii. 



I had arranged to go with my friend M., to look 

 for the large blue butterfly (F. Arion) which report 

 said had been seen a day or two before, at the 

 Kohlhof, a large clearing in the woods, lying about 

 five miles south-east of the town. 



The garden of the house in which I was staying, 

 opens into the woods, to the south of Heidelberg, 

 and I started in that direction in order to meet M. 

 in the road just above, which, though by a very 

 devious route, led to our destination. 



I had hardly left the garden when, to my astonish- 

 ment, a roe deer jumped up just in front of me, and 

 after cantering a few yards, turned round, and 

 deliberately stared at me. On my waving my hand- 

 kerchief, it started off again, but was immediately 

 joined by another, for which perhaps it had been 

 waiting, and then both went quietly up the wooded 

 hillside. This deer is very common round Heidel- 

 berg, but I had never before seen one in that 

 neighbourhood, though I have, at various times, 

 spent several months there, and have been through 

 the woods in every direction, at all hours of the day. 

 All the noises of the town, and Heidelberg is by no 

 means a quiet place, as well as the horrible shrieks 

 of the steam-tug in the Neckar below, must have 

 been perfectly audible to these animals, but they had 

 evidently become quite accustomed to them, and 

 treated them with the contempt which familiarity is 

 said to breed. 



Close by the spot whence the roe started, I came 

 upon quite a colony of a very beautiful feathery spirrea 

 (? ulmifolia) which is common on the Alps, but I 

 had never seen it before in Germany. It is, of course, 

 quite hardy, and worthy of more extensive cultivation 

 in the mixed ilower border, in English gardens. 



When I met M., he reported that he had just been 

 told of several specimens of Arion having been 

 taken the day before in a meadow on the other side 

 of the river. We therefore determined to try that 

 locality instead of the Kohlhof. 



Retracing our steps, and passing across the town, 

 we went over the new bridge, and then, bearing to 

 the right, kept along the sides of the hills above 

 Neuenheim, until we reached the spot indicated, a 

 small meadow lying just above the little town of 

 Handschuhsheim. But our quest was fruitless, 

 Arion could nowhere be seen. The only thing that 

 I saw there worth notice, was a quantity of plants of 

 the evening primrose ( CEnothera biennis) which were 

 growing about an old stone quarry, at one corner of 

 the meadow. It is very curious, how partial this 

 plant is to situations of that kind. 



Being disappointed here, we determined to make 

 the best of our way, to a meadow called the En^el- 



wiese, just above the Neckar valley, on the north 

 side. To reach this, which was nearly due east 

 of Handschuhsheim, we took a road that ran for 

 some distance through a kind of chestnut grove. 

 Here I observed Orchis maculata, and Pyrola minor, 

 in abundance, and I got one specimen oi A^eottia nidui 

 avis. I also saw in several places the curious seed- 

 vessels of Col. auhimnak, nestling in the narcissus- 

 like foliage. The path gradually bore too much to 

 the north, so we determined to enter the wood, and 

 take a short cut for the ruins on the Heiligenberg, 

 where we knew we should reach a path that would 

 lead us straight to our goal. 



At the point where we left the path, then running 

 alongside a meadow, there was a brook coming 

 down the hillside, and having passed into the 

 wood, here we came upon a little bog in which 

 was a bed of fine plants of the pretty little Smilacina 

 hi folia. 



We found the hillside very steep, and so slippery 

 from the dry pine needles, which formed the floor, that 

 we had difficulty in keeping our feet, and it was 

 simply impossible to attempt to catch any of the 

 oak eggers, which now and then dashed past us, 

 though I doubt whether we could have accomplished 

 their capture on level ground, their flight being so 

 rapid and erratic. 



We saw large numbers of the males of a moth that 

 feed on the pine {Fidonia pinarid). 



On reaching the Pleiligenberg, we saw one or twc> 

 damaged specimens of F. machaon and F. podalirius, 

 flying round the ruins. A month before, they had 

 been abundant there and in fine condition. Both 

 these species have a particular fancy for flying round 

 ruins, and high rocky places. I have seen both in 

 dozens flying, and chasing one another round the 

 ruins at Drachenfels. In England, Machaon is found 

 only in the Fens, and in Germany its food-plants do 

 not, so far as I could discover, grow anywhere near 

 the spots it seems most to delight in. 



I saw one damaged holly blue {F. argiolus), and 

 between the Heiligenberg, and Engelswiese, I took 

 two V. C-albums, and one Polychloros. I also saw 

 a good many Athalias, and several specimens of Z. 

 sinapis. 



When we reached the Engelswiese, we could not find 

 any Arions, but we got five splendid fresh specimens 

 of that brilliant little insect, the scarce copper (Z. 

 Virgaurea) and we caught sight of a fine Sibylla, 

 which, however, escaped us. 



We now resolved to go on to a large meadow,, 

 which lies high up in the forest, above the village of 

 Ziegelhausen, and which had been a sort of happy 

 hunting ground to us for some time past, and where> 

 a few days before, we had seen Aglaia and Athalia in 

 profusion. 



On our way thither, I saw several plants of the 

 yellow fox-glove {Digitalis grandijlora), and a fine 

 clump of the pretty liliaceous plant {Anthericiun 



