354 



THE NATUEALIST. 



Our first object of interest was 

 Carduus heterophjllus. This is a 

 Montane species, growing abun- 

 dantly among the Settle Hills. I 

 have met with it also in Perthshire 

 and the English Lake district. 

 Baker mentions it as occurring in 

 .the upper part of Newton-dale. 

 The larva of LohopTwra hexapterata 

 was beaten from willow. Sweet 

 Gale was plentiful, and a Coleo- 

 phora was feeding on it, that may 

 prove new to Britain; though its 

 case, it was remarked, has the 

 aspect of that of a willow-feeder, 

 viminetella ! Another case-bearer 

 appeared on heath, whose shining 

 black case has gained for it the 

 name of Pyrrhulcejminella. The 

 seeds of the whin were fed upon 

 by Coleoplwra albicostella, and the 

 downy ochreous case closely assi- 

 milated it to the withered sepals 

 of the plant. A Kingfisher, with 

 its almost tropical plumage, darted 

 by in the sunshine, alighting a 

 little higher up the stream. I was 

 glad to find it in this retired nook. 

 A pretty silky willow (Salix repens) 

 was trailing its pliant branches on 

 the ground, and gave indications of 

 seeding abundantly. Hieraclum sa- 

 baiidum, one of the northern Hawk- 

 weeds, supplied me with the woolly 

 gall of a Cynips, formed on the stem. 

 Linnseus, in his " Fauna Suecica," 

 mentions similar galls on H. muro- 

 rum. I am hoping it may eventually 



prove a discovery, and am carefully 

 keeping the galls till next season. 

 Near Ravens' Ghyll we met with 

 the Club moss, {Lycopodium clava- 

 turn,) whose lithe stems were creep- 

 ing closely among the scant herb- 

 age. The spores of this Lycopod 

 are highly inflammable. An in- 

 teresting case-bearer, (Coleoplwra 

 VirgaurecB,) feeding on the seeds of 

 the Goldenrod, was pointed out by 

 our entomological friend. The larva 

 was quite embedded among the 

 seeds, and was very difficult to 

 detect, as its case is clothed with 

 the loose pappus of the seed. It 

 was very abundant in the Dale. 

 We noticed a flock of Redwings 

 consorting together near the water- 

 fall, at Ravens' Ghyll, and could not 

 at first account for their keeping so 

 tenaciously to the spot. Some 

 fruiting plants of the Cowberry, 

 fVaccinlum Vitis-Idcea,) soon ex- 

 plained the matter. The birds 

 were feasting on the berries after 

 their long flight from Norway. We 

 found this beautiful plant both in 

 fruit and flower. Gentiana Amarellu, 

 usually indicative of limestone soil, 

 and Thymus SerpyUum were both 

 noticed by us in Harwood Dale. 

 We also saw Junipers in cultivation 

 in the valley, which were said to 

 have been transplanted from Fy- 

 lingdales Moor. Thus finished our 

 third field-day. — Peter Inchbald, 

 Storthes Hall, December 1st, 1864. 



