Natural History in the English Counties, 539 



January down to the present time. The wet mild winter has 

 doubtless been congenial to them ; and this specimen was 

 favourably situated in a sheltered bank, deeply covered with 

 leaves, and guarded by bushes; a rampart which effectually 

 concealed it from passers by, though growing by the side of 

 a public road, but could not screen it from the observation of 

 the botanist intent to discover the earliest gems of spring. 

 This plant has often been called a fairy goblet : our specimen 

 might rather be deemed a fairy bath. — S. W, fVyards, near 

 Alton, March 13. 1832. 



We have judged it needless to engrave our correspondent's 

 sketch, as the Peziza coccinea, so strikingly beautiful in colour, 

 is very well known, and the above remarks sufficiently portray 

 the magnitude of the specimen : should that specimen have 

 been but a large one of Peziza coccinea ; and if of any other 

 species, we doubt if the sketch supplies better marks of specific 

 distinction than the above description does. It may be re- 

 marked, that all parts of the specimen seemed proportionately 

 large. — J. D, 



KENT. 



The Mnseiim of Natural History at Canterbury. — Sir, 

 Happening lately, in my travels, to be passing through Can- 

 terbury, 1 naturally felt a desire to pay a visit to the museum 

 of the Philosophical and Literary Institution of that city. The 

 day of the week was Thursday, which I was informed was not 

 a public day. (Ought not all days to be public, except, of 

 course, the Christian sabbath, and perhaps one other day of 

 the remaining six appropriated to the necessary cleaning of the 

 room, arranging of subjects, &c. &c. ?) I found, however, not 

 the slightest difficulty in gaining admittance, being at once 

 referred to the exhibitor, Mr. Davey, who most readily waited 

 on me, and from whom, I am bound to say, I received every 

 polite attention. As my time was short, I thought it prefer- 

 able, after walking round the room, and taking a very cursory 

 view of its general contents, to devote the short space I had to 

 spare, to one particular department. That department was 

 the British insects ; and it is to one order only of these that 

 my present remarks shall be almost exclusively confined. I 

 think you will agree with me, that provincial museums, like 

 the one in question, ought to be rich in the productions of 

 their own immediate neighbourhoods. Now, as the county of 

 Kent is perhaps, of all the English counties, the very paradise, 

 as it were, of entomology, affording very many rare species ; 

 and, moreover, from its vicinity to London, having been well 

 investigated by industrious and able collectors, one might 



