364 Report of Committee of Portsmouth Lit, and Phil, Soc. 



be the cabbage), a race of these little ichneumon flies issues forth, ready to 

 perform the task assigned them, of keeping within due limits those fell de- 

 stroyers of our vegetables." (p. 84.) 



The spider also is attacked by the ichneumon, and a small fly, whose 

 larva is very destructive to the grains of wheat, is also said to be kept within 

 due limits by the same insect. The caterpillars of the magpie moths, which 

 feed on currant leaves, those of the moth which feeds on bent grass and 

 ribwort, and probably various other caterpillars, are liable to become their 

 nidi. One species lives on the aphides which infest the rose tree, and Mr. 

 Carpenter saw a large species of ichneumon come forth from the chrysalis 

 case of a fly of the genus i^fusca. It appears that different species of ich- 

 neumons sometimes deposit their eggs in the bodies of the same caterpillar, 

 and that many of the cynips, or gnats, which breed within the dog-rose and 

 oak apples, are destroyed by ichneumons depositing their eggs within the 

 cells of the cynips, and Mr. Marsham, as we are informed by Mr. Samouelle, 

 in his very valuable work. The Entomologist'' s Useful Compendium^ observed 

 in Kensington Gardens, in June 1827, the /chneumon manifestator on the 

 top of a post, depositing its eggs in the holes of the wild bee (-4'pis maxil- 

 losa), and, no doubt, in the larva or young bees which were in these holes. 



Brewster^ s Journal^ for July, contains a great variety of interesting 

 information on subjects of natural history. The first article, by J. Grant, 

 Esq., on the Ourang-outang of Borneo, is very curious and interesting. Its 

 face is said to be strangely human ; " nor is it in his physiognomy alone 

 that this animal bears so much resemblance to the human being." In a 

 considerable number of points it differs from the other species of apes, 

 and in all of these points it differs by approaching to the human species. 

 The creature may be tickled, and laughs, and walks upright. He is, how- 

 ever, only 2 ft. 2 in. high, and weighs but 22 lbs. avoirdupois. A number 

 of other curious particulars we have extracted for our Collectanea. 



Jamesori^s Philosophical Journaly for June, contains, as usual, a number of 

 valuable papers ; among others, the conclusion of the Geology of Nithsdale, 

 by our correspondent, J.S. Menteath, Esq. jun., formerly noticed (p. 17 J.) 

 as important in an agricultural point of view. He remarks that the 

 Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestris) does not harden its wood well, when growing 

 on the greywacke ; but that the contrary happens with the larch (Pinus 

 iarix), its wood being sound and good, and perfect at the heart. " The 

 larch grows naturally only on the primitive mountains, as the granite, gneiss, 

 and the like rocks of that class of the Alps, in Switzerland. And it is most 

 curious to observe, that, on the whole range of the Jura mountains, sepa- 

 rating that country from France, and being a limestone formation, rising to 

 an elevation of several thousand feet, not a single self-sown larch can be 

 discovered." Advancing, however, from this range into Switzerland, where 

 the primitive formation abounds, we find the larch indigenous, and attaining 

 to a great size. " It would thus appear that the greywacke, approaching 

 very near in qualities to the primitive mountain soil, is the best qualified to 

 grow larch." The author is of opinion that, " when mineralogy, a science so 

 interesting to the philosopher, comes to be more generally understood and 

 applied to the discovery of useful mineral substances, we may expect that 

 this tract will furnish products not yet brought to light, which may con- 

 tribute to promote agricultural and manufacturing industry ; and the valley 

 of the Nith, though not the most extensive, may become one of the most 

 important that is anywhere to be met with in Scotland." 

 Report of the Committee of the Portsmouth and Portsea Literary and 

 Philosophical Society. 1827-8. Portsmouth. Pamph. 8vo, pp. 48. 



This is one of the most prosperous provincial societies in the kingdom ; 

 and, in such a place as Portsmouth, where there are so many young 

 men whose active pursuits allow them little leisure for reading, it must 



