SS [March, 



nothing but the truth concerning the food of Phorodesma smaragdaria 

 leaked out. 



We have got at the plant which supplies our " emerald " with food, 

 and now we are going to get Phorodesma itself. So, on a bright and 

 warm day in the early part of September, when sportsmen are hurrying 

 off with gun and bag in time for the early train, we meet at Fencliurch 

 Street Station of the Southend line — two of us, and a novice whom 

 we had invited with the intention of giving him a good day's sport. 



In little more than an hour we arrived at Benfleet Station for the 

 land of Canvey. Here a boatman wearing the happy expression of 

 Charon himself, ferries us over the creek, and we are on terra firma 

 or " Little Holland" as it has been called. After a survey of this 

 interesting little island, we again hail our boatman, and regain the 

 mainland. Here the work begins. Having selected a good patcb of 

 Artemisia, which is plentiful, and occurs freely right along the coast 

 to St. Osyth and beyond, we spread out our mackintoslies, lie down 

 upon them, and carefully examine each sprig of the plant. " Here is 

 one !" " Where ?" asks our tyro. " There ! don't you see it ?" " No, 

 I don't," he answers. " I will not touch it, but you look once again 

 carefully on that sprig before you." " Can't see it " he says. When 

 the animal is pointed out to him once more, he exclaims, "What that 

 thing ?" and he gives it a contemptuous prod, which causes the larva 

 to make some n:iovement, which attracts his eye. " So that's it, is it ? 

 No wonder it has so long remained obscure. The only marvellous 

 part is that it was ever discovei^ed, so closely does it resemble the 

 plant itself." We go to work and soon obtain a good bag of 

 these little fluffy-looking spider-like creatures, and time passes on. 

 The salting widening and narrowing in parts, with sea aster {Aster 

 iripolium') , glasswort {Salicornia It erbacea), and sea purslane {AtripJex 

 portulacoides), together with other salt-marsh plants, forms a rich 

 carpet. 



Presently our friend remarks that his boots are getting wet. We 

 look up and see the tide advancing, for it had overflown its banks, 

 and we have just time to retreat to the river wall. There we make 

 our repast, watching the water gradually rising, and the Noducd as 

 they, driven from their hiding places, fly from one to other of the 

 spikes of the tallest plants now just above the surface of the great 

 sheet of water before us — " A sight for the gods !" we exclaim. How 

 is P. smaragdaria now ? We shall see. So, when we have refreshed 

 the inner man, and have discussed things in general, two hours have 

 passed away. Then all is high and dry as before. Again we go to work. 



