NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 127 
twenty-four miles west of Stowmarket, that town, however, being 
situate also on calcareous soil. The common Bladder Campion 
(Szlene inflata, Sm., vel. Cucubalus, Auct.) seems as abundant as 
elsewhere in Suffolk, and this may have become the food-plant of the 
larvee, through lack of more congenial pabulum.—J. Cosmo Metyinn ; 
Meole-Brace Hall, Shrewsbury, April 10th, 1921. 
Porntine Enromonoaican Pins.—With regard to the difficulty of 
pointing pin wire, mentioned by Mr. W. G. Sheldon (‘ Entomologist,’ 
April, 1921, p. 99), I had occasion some years ago to sharpen some 
‘cabinet points” for labelling purposes. The “ points ”’ as sold were 
absolutely useless, bending at right angles if one tried to pierce the 
label. I found the simplest way to put on proper points was to use 
the little fine-grain emery wheel supplied with some sewing machines 
for re-pointing broken needles. The Stitching mechanism is first 
disconnected, and then the emery-wheel device can be run off the 
driving wheel by means of arubber-rimmed pulley. I found difficulty 
in holding the wires, and managed best with a short length of very 
fine tubing let into a handle. With a long length of wire this could 
be passed right through the tube and the pins cut off as sharpened, 
the tubing acting as a tool holder. Probably a small drier holder or 
fly-tying vice would answer, or even a couple of stout matches slightly 
grooved and bound with thread, the wire being first placed between 
the matches, and drawn out so that about } in. projects at each 
sharpening. ‘The difficulty is to hold the wire firmly whilst sharpen- 
ing is in progress, and also to rotate it evenly.—G. Brrrram 
KersHaw, M.Inst.C.E.; 9, Victoria Street, S.W. 1. 
CNEPHASIA CoMMUNANS, H. §S., in Surrey.—In the year 1890 I 
took a single example of this species near here, but although I have 
repeatedly hunted for it since, success has not been mine until last 
year. Iam aware, of course, that, as reported in ‘ E.M.M..,’ xli, p. 260, 
Mr. Thurnall captured a number of specimens in the Croydon district 
in 1904. On May 24th last, however, I found the species common 
in the Dorking district some twenty miles away from here.—W. G. 
SHELDON, Youlgreave, S. Croydon. 
HEMEROBIUS STIGMA, STEPH. (NEUROPTERA), IN JANUARY.—It. 
may interest those who collect in the winter to hear that this little 
“Lace-wing’’ was taken flying at Esher Common, Surrey, on 
January 13th and 24th, 1921, while a fair number fell into the 
beating-tray from the small scotch firs on January 30th.—W. J. 
Lucas. 
THE ComMON CRICKET SWARMING IN A ReFusE Dump.—Mr. W. J. 
Lucas, in his interesting ‘Notes on British Orthoptera, 1920” 
(‘ Entomologist,’ April, 1921, pp. 94-97), remarks with reference to 
Gryllus domesticus, Linn.: ‘‘In dwelling-houses this cricket seems 
undoubtedly to be getting less common; in fact it is necessary to 
revise our estimate of its frequency.” Possibly persistence in the 
disposal of household refuse by the primitive method of ‘dumping ’”’ 
may to some extent account for this phenomenon. At any rate a 
large refuse dump several acres in extent, close to the Great Northern 
Railway and not far from Hatfield, was found on April 12th, 1921, 
by Lieut.-Col. S. Monckton Copeman, F.R.S., and the writer, to be 
teeming with G. domesticus. Wherever the surface of the refuse was 
