208 Sibiloas Br ak chopper, Epelra diadema, 



been produced to their hirsuties, except that he has remarked 

 that the solution was so strong, that he " should not be sur- 

 prised if the white powder appears upon their hirsuties." 

 (V. 684.) The degree in which this is the case renders the 

 powder not obvious, though, on close looking, perceptible. The 

 copious hirsuties of the specimens is unclotted and unruffled. 

 The specimens are at the service of C. T.] 



Large Botanical Engravings. — Are there published any 

 engravings of a sufficiently large size to be suitable for illus- 

 trating some lectures upon the elements of botany, to be 

 delivered before a small and private audience? If you are 

 not aware of any, perhaps some of your readers may. — W. D. P. 

 Islington, Feb. 24. 1836. 



Art. XII. Retrospective Criticism. 



The Sibilom Brahehopper {vulgarly \ Grasshopper Lark) Lo- 

 custella sibilans. (p. 106.) — Your correspondent has evidently 

 mistaken one of the pipits (v^'nthus) for the sibilous brakehop- 

 per. The latter species, undoubtedly, has a short, strong, and 

 crooked claw, as described in Montagu's Ornith. Diet. 1 have 

 seen many specimens of the former curious and interesting 

 species, and none of them had the hind claw at all produced. 

 It is quite a mistake to suppose that it has any affinity to the 

 larks (^41auda), amongst which it was, on account of its 

 colour, classed by the older ornithologists; and some went so 

 far as to add the long hind claw in their plates, to render its 

 similarity to the larks more obvious ! Now, however, it has 

 found its true affinities, in the family Sylviadae, subfam. Phi- 

 lomela^, and genus Locustella, of which group there is only 

 a single British species. The description given by Selby of 

 its habits and plumage is, I believe, perfectly correct. — 

 Neville Wood. Foston Hall, Derbyshire, Feb. 12. 1836. 



Epelra diadema (VIII. 575.)? the figure of, which you have 

 given with my remarks, although an excellent representation 

 of the species, and, perhaps, of the size of which it usually 

 occurs in the south of England, is much larger than any in- 

 dividuals that I have seen in this neighbourhood ; perhaps 

 nearly twice as large as the one of which the anecdote is told : 

 therefore, calculated to convey an erroneous idea of the crea- 

 ture's strength. — Wm. Gardiner, jun. Dundee, Forfarshire, 

 Nov. 13. 1835. [No. 129. of the Penny Magazine contains 

 interesting information on spiders, illustrated by engravings. 

 Epeira diadema is the theme of some of the information.] 



