542 Natural History in the English Counties : — 



always judiciously selected. Thus, e. g., a single glance at the 

 British catalogue of Papilionidae will show the following pas- 

 sage to be incorrect: — "The species," says the writer of the 

 Synopsis, "of the other families" [i. e. all except the E'quites 

 Achivi and Trojiini of Linnaeus], "being many of them Eu- 

 ropean, and their history and manners better known, have 

 derived their names chiejiy from the 'plaiits upon "which the cater- 

 pillars feed." Fifteen or sixteen only, out of a list of about 

 sixty-four well ascertained British species, are so named. 

 Again, under the head of Pontia brassicae, we read, " It is 

 this, and the three species, rapae, napi, and sinapis, which, in 

 their larva state, commit such devastation in our gardens." 

 Leucophasia sinapis, which is far from being an abundant 

 species, is almost exclusively confined to woods, seldom stray- 

 ing far from the spot where it was bred : its caterpillar, I will 

 venture to say, commits no injury on our gardens. In the 

 same page (89.), Colias Edusa is stated to " occur in England 

 once in three years, in some seasons only locally, in others, in 

 the greatest profusion in every part of the country," Its plenti- 

 ful occurrence is not, as here stated, once in three years, but 

 at indeterminate periods, which, accordingly, we cannot calcu- 

 late ; as we are told immediately after : — " Entomologists are 

 at a loss to account for the periodical, but irregidar, appear- 

 ance of this and some other species," &c. Nor is it by any 

 means correct, to say that in other seasons it occurs in the 

 greatest profusion in every part of the country. As far as my 

 observation goes, it is chiefly in maritime counties that it 

 occurs in much abundance. In such only have I ever seen 

 it plentiful ; and I can vouch for it, that there are many mid- 

 land couaties, with which I am well acquainted, in which I 

 have scarcely ever seen a single specimen during more than 

 thirty years' experience. iSphin^ Alropo5, we are very truly 

 told, " is the largest ... of the British species of this genus, 

 although in Egypt and India it attaiiis double the size" This 

 must, at any rate, be a thumper, though I am not prepared to 

 deny the truth of the statement. Before a second edition of 

 the Synopsis is published, I hope this portion of it, at least, will 

 receive great alteration and improvement. 



Though I promised to confine my remarks almost entirely 

 to the British Lepidoptera, I cannot conclude this notice with- 

 out expressing my unqualified admiration of the collection of 

 vegetable skeletons, exhibiting the nerves and veins of the 

 leaves and seed-vessels, &c,, of plants. These, we are in- 

 formed, were principally executed by Mr. Crow: they are 

 unquestionably the most beautiful and perfect things of their 

 kind I ever beheld ; so much so, indeed, that it would be worth 



