NOTES — ORIGINAI. AN'D SKLIXTEI). 99 



warmer, and on May nth not one was to be seen, but on May I2lh I saw a 

 stragijler feeding in a meadow with some starlings. — Reginald W. Christy? 

 Ill tie Boy Son Hall, Roxwell. 



Abundance of Cynthia cardui. — This spring there is an unusual abundance 

 of the " Silver Y." moth {^Pliisia gamma'). They swarm everywhere, especially in 

 bean fields, where they fly like butterflies in the brightest sunshine. 



The " Painted Lady " butterfly (^Cynthia cardui) is also very common here 

 now ; in fact, with the exception of Euchloe caiulamines, it is the commonest butter- 

 fly on my farm. 



If the abundance of its plant food has anything to do with its numbers, this 

 species is not likely to become extinct just yet. — REGINALD W. CHRISTY, Little 

 Boyton Hall, Chelmsford, May 30th, 1892. 



Abundance of Spring Insects. — I can confirm Mr. R. W. Christy's obser- 

 vations as to the abundance of some species of Lepidoptera in Essex this spring. 

 During the last fortnight I have traversed a considerable portion of the county, 

 and have observed very large numbers of Cynthia cardui and Vanessa atalanta, 

 with Plusia gamma in countless thousands. My brothers and I have also seen 

 with pleasure three specimens of Colias edusa (one at Buckhurst IJill, one at 

 East Mersea, and one at West Mersea). The young larvae of Vanessa urticce 

 are excessively common ; in some places every patch of nettles has one or more 

 colonies. The caterpillars of the " Magpie Moth," Abraxas grossular lata, and of 

 the " Figure-of-8-Moth," Diloba ccrruleocepkala are also present in astonishing 

 numbers. We may reasonably hope that the abundance of the foregoing species 

 will prove to be the harbinger of a glorious butterfly season, such as the 

 memorable one of 1877, fondly looked back upon as the great " edusa-year." 



Of the true spring butterflies the lovely " Orange-tip " Euchloe cardamines 

 and Satyrus megcera have been exceedingly common in all parts of the county I 

 have visited. The spring larvae, such as " Drinkers " (^Odonestis potatoria), 

 Arctia caja, Bomhyx tieusiria, have also been observed by hundreds, with 

 Bomhyx quercus not so commonly. At East Mersea the beautiful larvae of the 

 "Pale Oak-egger moth" (_Trichiura cratcegi) have been in very considerable 

 numbers on the black-thorn and " May " bushes. In Epping Forest the ravages 

 of Tortrix viridana are only too evident, very many of the oaks being absolutely 

 defoliated. Ichneumon flies are very numerous, so that vast numbers of these 

 "wasteful things," as a Mersea farmer called the caterpillars we showed him, may 

 never come to the winged state, but nevertheless the entomologist may be 

 pardoned in looking forward to the coming summer and autumn of 1892 as 

 likely to rival some of the historic years of times past. [Since writing the 

 above, my brother, B. G. C, has seen two more C. edusa near the " Red Hill," 

 on Bower Hill Farm, West Mersea, and I am informed that several have been 

 seen on the South Coast and elsewhere]. — William Cole, F2ast Mersea, June 

 9th, 1S92. 



Funeral Garlands. — With reference to the interesting bygone folk-custom 

 alluded to in the report of the Club's visit to Theydon Mount Church, on May 

 28th (see page 105), Mr. Chalkley Gould has kindly sent us the following illustra- 

 tive extracts: — The "Antiquarian Repertory," 1784 (vol. iv., p. 239), sa^s : 

 "... these garlands at the funerals of the deceased was carried solemnly 

 before the corpse by two maids, and afterwards hung up in some conspicuous 

 place within the church, and was made in the following manner, viz., the lower 

 rim or circlet, was a broad hoop of wood, whereunto was fixed at the sides thereof 



