THE MAGAZINE 



OF 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



MARCH, 1836. 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Art. I. A Sketch of the Natural History of the Neighbourhood 

 of Dijon, France, in 1835. By Giles Munby, Esq. 



Being at Paris during last summer, and wishing to explore 

 the natural history of some part of France, I fixed upon Dijon 

 as a place likely to furnish a great variety in its natural pro- 

 ductions. 



I, consequently, left Paris on the 9th of July, and pro- 

 ceeded up the river in a steam-boat as far as Montereau. 

 The beautiful scenery on the banks of the Seine, is too well 

 known to need any comment here. I observed floating in 

 the stream the leaves of Sagittaria sagittifolia, which, instead 

 of their usual arrow-shaped form, were several feet in length, 

 and resembled more the linear leaves of a iSparganium. I 

 passed through Sens, Joigny,&c, and reached Auxerre, where 

 I proposed stopping for a day or two. This small town is 

 very pleasantly situated on the river Yonne, and contains 

 above 11,000 inhabitants. The cathedral is considered to be 

 one of the finest Gothic edifices in France : it is celebrated 

 principally for its painted glass windows, the colours of which 

 are extremely rich. The celebrated statue of St. Christopher, 

 which was upwards of 30 ft. high, was destroyed in 1768, by 

 order of the chapter of Auxerre. The town clock is curious 

 in having a double circle of hours marked upon it. The 

 neighbourhood is very rich in vineyards. The celebrated 

 white wine of Chablis is produced at a village situated about 

 10 miles from Auxerre. Salvia $clarea was abundant in the 

 trenches, outside the town walls. 



About 30 miles further, on the road towards Dijon, is a 

 small village called Rouvray, the neighbourhood of which 

 is rich in entomological productions. I took the fiuprestis 

 Vol. IX, ~- No. 59. k 



