110 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



down the steep slope to the shore; the trees were mixed, but with 

 cedar predominating. On the top of the slope were 3 or 4 magnifi- 

 cent basswoods, a landmark for miles around. 



Moving south-westward I soon shook myself clear of the 

 cedar thicket, and crossing a somewhat spongy meadow began to 

 ascend the slope. Half-way up I came upon a small clearing, 

 partly filled in with raspberry bushes and surrounded on all sides 

 by cedars. Hardly had I stepped into this, than a sharp, querulous 

 bark, almost like a fox-terrier's, warned me that I had been dis- 

 covered by a sentinel crow on its outlook post overhead. Almost 

 immediately bedlam broke loose and the air was thick with these 

 black, jabbering lunatics. For a moment I was puzzled to know 

 why a general alarm had been rung in, but it was soon apparent, 

 nearly every cedar round the edge of this hidden glade had 3 or 4 

 >oung crows roosting on its branches, and though at first they 

 tried the dodge of "freezing" on their perch, they soon began hop- 

 ping and fluttering clumsily into cover, while the old birds guarded 

 their retreat. 



Finding nothing of interest about the raspberry thicket or 

 the elder shrubs in its midst, I resumed my climb and presently 

 won out to the top. Here F paused and took my bearings; just 

 beyond me, on the far side of a low bank of field-stone, topped by 

 a rickety old rail fence, lay an open meadow, while over my head 

 stretched the noble canopy of a giant basswood. If my tribe had a 

 totem pole, it should be of either basswood or white pine, for most 

 of my lucky finds have been about these two trees, and I seldom 

 pass either without giving it a good look-over. If my faith had 

 ever wavered, that tree effectually nailed my colors to the mast 

 forever and a day: on the very first leafy branch and almost the 

 first bit of foliage that caught my eye, there sat an unmistakable 

 specimen of Hoplosia niihila. Now this beetle is far from com- 

 mon; during all the years of collecting in Port Hope, I had nevxr 

 seen it, and in three seasons at Peterborough I had taken but four, 

 all on freshly fallen timber, three on basswood and one on beech. 



There was a breathless moment of suspense while I captured 

 the insect and registered a mental vow not to leave the spot till 

 I had hunted high and low for further trace of its kind. For some 

 minutes my eye ranged o\'er the foliage for insects as searchingly 



