OBSERVATIONS. 



287 



containing the spotted larv?e of the 

 small ermines ; and the beautiful 

 caterpillars of the Mullein shark 

 moth have been found of very large 

 size. I have gathered hosts of those 

 belonging to P. hucephala from oak, 

 elm, willow, beech (purple variety 

 as well), and lime. Seventeen full 

 grown ones I carried home on one 

 small branch of a lime tree. A. 

 atropos and S. Ligustrl have been 

 more plentiful this year than before. 

 Apropos of atropos, the caterpillar 

 made a sound like the tick of a watch. 

 Ht. Ullyett, High Wycombe. 



Winter Kambles in the Isle of 

 Wight. 

 January 18th, 1864. — The upper 

 half of the Island is chiefly of the 

 Eocene formation, a belt of chalk, 

 that extends from the Culver Cliffs 

 to the Needles, severing it from the 

 Greensand and Gault of the south. 

 The Wealden clay occupies the south- 

 west, and is rich in fossil remains. 

 Our starting point was Byde, whence 

 we took the direction of Shanklin 

 and the Undercliff to Vent nor and 

 St. Laurence, Freshwater and the 

 Needles. At Brading we noticed in 

 the hedge-rows the brilliaqt orange 

 seeds of the Gladwyn Iris, (Iris 

 fcetidissima ) still clustering within 

 the widely spreading valves of the 

 capsule. This Iris is widely spread 

 over the Island. The Butcher's 

 Broom (Ruscus aculeatusj was plen- 



tiful along the sea-side footpath 

 between Sandown and Shanklin, and 

 in flower. It is not unusual to 

 meet with both flower and fruit on 

 this plant at Christmas. The fruit 

 is of the size and colour of a cherry. 

 The thrushes were singing merrily 

 at Shanklin Chine thus early in the 

 year; and the celandines were wide 

 open on sheltered hedge-banks. At 

 Bonchurch, a mile from Ventnor, we 

 were surprised with the luxuriance 

 of the evergreen vegetation. The 

 Chinese Privet, [Ligustrum liicidum) 

 in Captain Huish's pretty grounds, 

 thebeautifully glossy foliage of which 

 is the great ornament to Bonchurch 

 Pond in the winter, grows here to 

 the height of twenty feet, and had 

 been quite covered with blossoms. 

 A magnificient heath, (Erica ar- 

 horea) a veritable tree in growth, 

 since it attained the height of twelve 

 or fifteen feet, was literally loaded 

 with white flowers, which are as 

 fragrant as they are beautiful. This 

 tree-heath is a native of the shores 

 of the Mediterranean. Here too, in 

 the open garden, I saw yellow cro- 

 cuses in bloom, and snowdrops. 

 At Ventnor the scarlet geraniums, 

 which are trained up the verandahs 

 facing the sea, were still in flower ; 

 a slight protection of canvas covers 

 the lower part of the stem. I 

 gathered the shining black berries 

 of the madder (Eulia 2:>eregriHaJ for 

 the first time at Ventnor. I was 



