50 BOTANICAL KEMINISCENCK3. 



the tall oaks^ baffling the attempts oftentimes of the most ardent and pereG- 

 vering collector. Should this wood be visited in July you will occasionally 

 catch a glimpse of the Emperor, {Apatwa Iris,) as he glides down the 

 avenues far above the reach of his pursuer: he ascends to a greater elevation 

 than any other insect. Here, too, in the moist and more open parts, Pamphila 

 linea, (Small Skipper,) is not uncommon, flitting in the bright sunshine of 

 a July afternoon. In a lane skirting the wood, I have found its allied species, 

 Thi/mele Tages, (Dingy Skipper,) appearing in May. 



On the western range of the Downs, I have experienced the pleasure of 

 capturing Melitma Silene, (Small Pearl-bordered,) in any quantity I could 

 have wished, among a patch of furze, and in the vicinity of this locality I 

 have taken an occasional straggler of M. Artemis, (The Greasy.) Near 

 Poynings Common this species is abundant. 



Thecia hehdce, (Brown Hairstreak,) one specimen was taken a few years 

 ago by a friend, near the village of Newark, and which is now in his cabinet; 

 and 1 recollect seeing two examples at the Holmbush, in 1849, but they 

 evaded my net, to my great disappointment. 



St. Anns, Lewes, November 10th., 18o2. 



BOTANICAL KEMINISCENCES; WITH A FEW WORDS ON 

 THE NATURAL HISTORY OP BANFFSHIRE. 



BY JOHN ROSE, ESQ., M. A., M. D., 



Member of the Iloyiil College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Fellow of the B.tanieal Society of 

 London, and Assistant Surgeon R. N. 



It may not be generally known that there are few localities, at least in 

 Scotland, so interesting to the naturalist as Banffshire. To the geologist it 

 presents a rich field in its treasures of Fossil Fishes in the Old Red Sandstone 

 in the parish of Gamrie, about seven miles eastward of the town of Banff. 

 There IchthjoUtes were first discovered, about eighteen years ago, by James 

 Christie, Esq., Solicitor in Banff, and William Dockar, Esq., Findon, the 

 name of the farm on which the Fish-beds occur. The locality has since 

 been visited by many naturalists, and accurate descriptions of the various 

 species written by Agassiz, Hugh Miller, and the venerable and learned Dr. 

 John Fleming, Professor of Natural Science in the New College, Edinburgh. 

 The nodules, in which the organisms are contained, are composed of carbonate 

 of lime, and are frequently of a subcrystalline, radiating, and fibrous structure. 

 They are embedded in blue Clay, over the Old Red Sandstone, and are found 

 in a sort of ravine only a few feet above the level of the sea. Species of 

 the following families have been discovered: — PtericJithi/s, Gocosteiis, Dipterus, 

 Osteolepis, etc., of which last, some of the remains are very beautiful, perfect, 

 and distinct, and vary in length from five to fourteen inches. Several vegetable 

 remains of much interest arc likewise found in the same locality. Again, 



