128 



THE NATUllALIST. 



feet from the ground, near to a gar- 

 den to which they proved very de- 

 structive, their food consisting chiefly 

 of the green peas, with which their 

 crops and stomachs (on being dis- 

 sected) were found to he completely 

 filled. A pair bred in the same 

 locality in the summer of 1861. — 

 T. E. GuNN, Norwich, July 30, 1864. 

 Fringilla incerta. — Your readers 

 will be pleased to learn that I have 

 a living specimen of that exceedingly 

 rare and doubtful British Bird, 

 Fringilla incerta, of Risso ; I at first 

 mistook it for a hen Greenfinch. — 

 Louis Fraser, The Green, Knights- 

 bridge, London, S.W., July 13, 1864. 



Ateiichiis. — In reply to your cor- 

 respondent A. L., I beg to inform 

 him that the reason why the Ateu- 

 chus is called the Sacred Beetle of 

 the Egyptians is, that the Ateuchus 

 was the symbol used on the Egyp- 

 tian monuments to represent the 

 God " Pthah," who was worshipped 

 as the embodiment of strength and 

 stability.— T. G. P. 



Veronica peregrina is now well 

 established in the neighbourhood of 

 Perth. It is a common weed in 

 Dickson and TurnbuU's nurseries 

 on the side of the river Tay, opposite 

 to the fair city. How this foreigner 

 (if such it be) has gained an entrance 

 into our country, I believe as yet 



has not been satisfactorily deter- 

 mined, only the plant is here and 

 in abundance as a living evidence of 

 the fact. Has this little annual been 

 found in any other part of Great 

 Britain ? I am perfectly aware that 

 it occurs plentifully in more places 

 than one in the North of Ireland, 

 particularly in the vicinity of Lon- 

 donderry, but like its appearance at 

 Perth, who can account for it ? Mr. 

 W. Gait, in the Glasgow Manuscript 

 Magazine, has some very interesting 

 remarks upon the native residence 

 of V. jjeregrina. Would it not 

 be very acceptable to see some fur- 

 ther light thrown upon this humble 

 annual ? One thing, however, ap- 

 pears to be certain, it is now firmly, 

 and I have reason to believe perma- 

 nently, established in the British 

 Isles, and like another foreign in- 

 truder ( Miimdus luteus) will pro- 

 bably in a few years considerably 

 extend its boundaries. — John Sim, 

 Bridge End, Perth. 



®^rfjange» 



I have H. Semele which I should 

 be glad to exchange for C. Hyale, 

 A. cratoegi, E. Cassiope, C. Davus, 

 L. Sibilla, A. Irus, G. C. album, T. 

 pruni, T. W. album, P. Avion or P. 

 Actwon. Applicants will be kind 

 enough to write before sending any 

 box. — A. J. Hay, Uckfield, Sussex. 



