July 28, 1863. ] 



JOHENAL OF HOKTICTJLTTJEE A2JD COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



73 



as the lofty Chestnut ; the Esoulns, which is the lai'gest 

 that flouinshes in the gi'oves of Jove ; and the Quercvis, re 

 puted oractJar by the Greeks." — (Georg., ii., 14-16.) 



Pliny observes, " The Quercus and the Eobur (j^robably 

 our Quercus racemosa and Q. robur), we see growing every- 

 where, but with the Escnlus it is othei-wise."' " The acorn, 

 properly so called, is borne by the Eobm-. Quercus. Esculus, 

 Cerms, Hex. and Suber." "The Esculus isdeclicated to 

 Jove." " It ripens its acorns in the autumn." " It is im- 

 patient of a wet soil." — (JVni. Hist., xii., 1. — x^a., G, and 26 

 and 41.) 



Horace refers to the hai'duess of its wood when he says 

 that the obduracy of Lyce was " not more yielding than the 

 unpliant Esculus;" and he alludes (Odes, i., 22), to "the 

 spacious Esculus woods " of Daunia, a portion of the Nea- 

 politan territory bordering on the Adriatic. 



In the Georgic already quoted (lines 291-2), Vii-gil says, 

 " Esculus tends towai-ds Tartai'us with its root as far as 

 with its head towards the ethereal regions." Now, in oiu- 

 present inquiry, it is vei-y significant that in the 4th -ffineid 

 Virgil I makes the same descriptive observation, repeating 

 every word, when speaking of Quercus. 



Ovid characterises the Esculus as having "lofty leafy 

 branches." — (Metam., viii., 410 — x., 91.) 



Pliny also states that for Vine-props it was cut every 

 three years, that it is produced fi-om an acorn, that the 

 props are least of any liable to decay, and that cutting it 

 freely makes it produce shoots more abundantly. — (Nat. Hist, 

 xvii., 20.) The best and largest acorns, he also says, were 

 borne by the Quercus, and the next by the Esculus — (Ibid., 

 xvi., 228.) Tlie civic crown was first foi-med of sprays of 

 the Bignus, but subsequently of the Esculus, sacred to 

 Jove. — (Ibid., xvi., 4.) 



These scattered details lead us to the conclusion evidently 

 entertained by the Bauhins, Parkinson, Bay, and Linnaeus, 

 that the Esculus of the classic wi-iters is the Oak now known 

 as the Italian or Prickly-cupped Oak, Quercus esculus of some 

 botanists, but probably identical with Q. pulescens. Its 

 leaves are numerous, are about 3 inches long, and 1 J inch wide, 

 on footstalks nearly 1 inch long, with shining sm-faces 

 paler beneath than above, finely veined, and disposed alter- 

 nately on the sprays. They are well suited to forming the 

 honorary head-wreath bestowed by the Eomans. The acorn 

 when fuU grown is about an inch long, and its scaly cup 

 about one-thu-d of that length. It is sweet and eatable, 

 so much so as to be brought to table roasted both by 

 Spaniards and Italians in country districts. There was a 

 tree of this species in the Hoi-ticultui-al Society's Chiswick 

 garden which Loudon records as having borne crops of 

 acorns. We have inquired about this tree; but, like many 

 others, it seems to have been recklessly cut down by Mr. 

 McEwen. 



Few people ai-e aware that acorn is only an abbreviation 

 of ao-com, or oak-corn, a name justified by the prevalent 

 use of some kinds of this mast in remote ages. Even now 

 the acorns of Quercus ballota are sold both in an uncooked 

 and roasted state in the markets of Algiers, and are a 

 common article of food with the Moors. 



Quercus esculus is not so abundant in Italy as some of 

 the other sp««ies, but is found perhaps more frequently in 

 the countries bordering on the Adriatic. It is lofty, though 

 not one of the loftiest of the Oaks, averaging 40 feet when 

 frill grown. The soil in which it flourishes best is a weU- 

 drained, rich, sandy loam. It stUl bears the name of Eschia 

 and Esculo (according to Parkinson), in Italy. 



M. Tenore says that there is a very fine vai-iety of the 

 Quercus robM found in the woods thi-oughout the kingdom 

 of Naples, distinguished by its large leaves, and which is 

 there called the Ch&ie Castagimra (Chestnut Oak). It was 

 formerly known under the name of the Quercus latifolia 

 (Broad-leaved Oak). This has been considered by some 

 the Esculus of Pliny and other Latin writers ; but Tenore 

 expresses himself as certain that that is the Quercus escidus 

 of Lmnseus. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETING. 

 The July Meeting of the Entomological Society, held on 

 the 6th inst., with the President in the chair, was more than 

 ordinai-Uy interesting. A considerable munber of donations 



to the library received since the last Meeting from Vienna, 

 Munich, Stockholm, Konigsberg, France, &c., were laid upon 

 the table, the Society being at length resolved to concentrate 

 its forces on its library and publications. A notice to this 

 eifect, and that it had been resolved to dispose of the re- 

 maining portion of the Society's collections, including the 

 British insects, was given by the Secretary', it having been 

 found impracticable to form even a tolerably perfect in- 

 digenous collection, whilst the expenses attending its pre- 

 servation and exhibition were more than equivalent to the 

 benefit resulting from its retention. 



On the motion of Mr. Dunning, it was resolved that the 

 thanks of the Society be given to W. W. Saunders, Esq., 

 F.E.S., Treasurer of the Eoyal Horticidtural Society, &c., for 

 his liberal entertainment of the members at Eeiga te on the 

 22nd ult., when an interesting entomological excursion in 

 that charming locality, planned by Mr. Saunders, was joined 

 in by a large number of the members, and some interesting 

 captures made during the day were exhibited by several of 

 the members present at the July Meeting. 



Mr. Stevens exhibited a case of rare insects collected in 

 South Australia by Mr. George French Angas. Sfc- 



Sijecimens of thebeautiftilCarabus am-atus, long esteemed 

 a doubtful British species, were exhibited by Mr. Brewer, 

 recently taken on the coast of Kent between Dover and 

 Hythe. Unlike the other British species of the genus, they 

 are found running about during the day. It was, however, 

 stated that the late Mr. Walton had impoi-ted and tui-ned a 

 number of French specimens of the species loose twenty 

 yeai-s ago between Dover and Deal, whence it was possible 

 that the recently-captured specimens might be the descen- 

 dants of some of these imi^orted individvials. 



Ml'. Stainton exliibited sijecimens of Elachista apicipunc- 

 teUa, one of the Tineidse, bred fi-om lar-vae found in the leaves 

 of a Festuca, although ordinarily they mine the leaves of 

 Holchus lanatus. 



Professor Westwood, in reference to the cmious herma- 

 phi-odite Honey Bees exhibited at the June Meeting by the 

 President, stated that a long account has been published in 

 the "Transactions" of the newly-established Entomological 

 Society of Switzerland of a hive of Bees which for several 

 years had produced a number of such monstrous individuals, 

 a fact which appeai'ed to militate against the theory of 

 parthenogenesis. He also exhibited di-awings which he had 

 recently made at Dresden of the larva? and pups of the 

 anomalous genus Coronis contained in the fine collection of 

 Dr. Kaden. He also gave a description of the preparatory 

 states of the equally curious genus Castnia, of which the 

 larva resembles that of the longicorn Beetles, whilst the 

 pupa is very similar- to that of Cossus, with rows of reflexed 

 hooks on the dorsal segments. He also exhibited specimens 

 of GracUaria i-ufipennella, a small Moth, the larvse of which 

 during the past month of May had been vei-y injurious to 

 the foliage of the Walnut in Southern Tyrol, the trees ha-ving 

 the appearance of having been scorched with ffre. This fact 

 was the more remai-kable (being quite unknown to the 

 Vienna entomologists), as the orduiar-j- food of the lai-vie are 

 the leaves of the Plane tree. He also exliibited specimens 

 of Euchefra socialis in the perfect state. This Butterfly had 

 hitherto been kno-svn only by the description which he had 

 published tliii-ty years ago of the family cocoon formed by 

 the lar-vEe within which the chrysalids are susjjended in 

 society. He also exhibited specimens of the two sexes of 

 Papilio Castor and PoUux, which had been eiToneously re- 

 garded as sexes of one species, and also produced photo- 

 graphic representations of a remarkable hermaphi-odite spe- 

 cimen, proving the coiTCctness of his sepai-ation of the two 

 insects. 



Ml-. Stainton gave an account of the discovery of the 

 larvEB of Micropteryx fastuoselta in Nut leaves on Marlborough 

 chalk downs. He also stated that he had been called up to 

 award the entomological prize at Marlborough College for 

 the best collection of Lepidoptera, and that there were 

 seven candidates for the prize. 



Mr. F. Moore exhibited some Galls on Elm leaves, caused 

 by the punctures of a species of Aphis ; and Mr. Dunning, a 

 white silky secretion found deposited over a quantity of 

 Chicory, probably by the larvae of some species of Tinea. 



Mr. Biu-chaU exhibited several specimens of Dianthas;:a 

 capsophila, and the Eev. Mt. Marshall brought a number of 



