224 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



which originated with the late talented Edward 

 Newman has been proved to be correct j the swarms 

 of P. Gamma and P. cardui having been traced hither 

 in their course from north-west Africa, and pas- 

 sengers on vessels have frequently seen large clouds 

 of butterflies crossing the sea; the "blown over 

 theory," therefore, can no longer be laughed at, and 

 will explain at least the abundance of certain species 

 of Lepidoptera. But we cannot doubt that in many 

 cases the insects were natives, and the extraordinary 

 profusion of particular species is to be attributed, I 

 cannot help thinking, to the fortuitous combination 

 of degrees of heat and moisture, exactly suiting the 

 ova of these species. That the weather plays a most 

 important part in the production of insect life, is a 

 fact recognisable by all. The little Thrips cerealiicm is 

 an example. They are known to every one as thunder 

 blight ; and the minute, tiresome creatures are always 

 especially numerous in hot windy weather, and 

 usually betoken thunderstorms, proving the aptness 



sustenance and comfort, they would speedily drive 



man himself and all other animals from the very face 



of the earth. 



Joseph Anderson, jun. 

 Chichester. 



NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 

 JERSEY. 



By Edward Lovett. 



FEVn' localities offer a finer field to the working 

 naturalist, and few are so completely adapted 

 to the requirements of the student, or natural observer 

 as Jersey. 



Its insular position gives it, so to speak, a compact 

 natural history of its own, where, although inter- 

 mingled with genera and species common in England 

 and the Continent, the fauna and flora may yet be 

 found to contain isolated cases that mark the former 





Fig. ii8. — The " Ormer " {Haliotis tuhcrculata). 



of the name bestowed upon them. The furniture in 

 our rooms was covered with their dead, tiny carcasses 

 during the last week in July. Their life is apparently 

 very short (it may however be a merry one), as they 

 die in a few hours, at all events after they have 

 entered the h )use. 



The subject is certainly not without interest, the 

 more so that so little is known about it. In these few 

 observations I 'have been able only to touch upon it, 

 my remarks having been confined to that which 

 takes place immediately under our eyes. Much might 

 be written concerning the swarms of insects aljroad, 

 the dreadful ravages for instance of locusts; neverthe- 

 less these few notes may be useful in eliciting opinions 

 and information from others. We are apt to regard 

 insects as puny and contemptible ; but they only want 

 the fiat of the Creator to become the most mighty 

 agents of destruction, and directly, by personal at- 

 tacks, or indirectly, by destroying every green thing 

 in the vegetable kingdom, which ministers to their 



continental distribution of species, whose last stand 

 was made amongst the sheltered coves, valleys, or 

 rock clefts of this picturesque island. Another 

 advantage, particularly to the geologist or marine 

 zoologist, which its insular position obtains for it, 

 is its large and varied coast line, and consequently 

 rich series of geological sections, and abundant 

 variety of sea beds and rock pools. 



The variation in the fauna and flora in different 

 parts of the island, situated with difterent aspects, 

 and with a somewhat different geological character, 

 is as marked as it is in other and wider localities ; 

 so that there are "good places" for " spiders," i.e. 

 Maia sqiiinado ; for " ormers," i.e. Haliotis tuber- 

 C7ilata, and so on, to the fisherman, as there are 

 "good localities" to the naturalist for the various 

 branches of study in which he may be interested. 

 These "good localities," as regards marine life, are 

 chiefly where, owing to the shelving nature of the 

 shore, the tide recedes for some distance, leaving. 



