50 CORRESPONDENCE. 
Many of the Lepidoptera appear 
in numbers only in some particular 
seasons, and the phenomenon is not 
at all satisfactorily accounted for yet. 
It is one of those many problems in 
Nature which continually remind us 
of the immense amount of labour yet 
necessary to discover an explanation 
of some of her commonest mysteries. 
The above moth has been seen in 
Wycombeonceor twicethis year. No 
doubt the continual wet weather last 
winter and this summer destroyed 
many of the pupe. Eb. 
Hawk Morus.—The caterpillars 
of some of the Hawk Moths have 
been very abundant this year ; I have 
had about twenty of the Privet Hawk, 
eight of the Poplar, two of the Lime 
Hawk, and two of the Eyed Hawk. 
Many more have been found, but as 
far as I can discover, none of the 
Death’s Head, which were so abun- 
dant last year. The boys call all 
these caterpillars ‘‘locusts,’’ because 
they have a horn on the tail. Tam 
unable to explain the logic involved. 
The larve of the Buff Tip Moth may 
now be found in colonies on the lime, 
beech, elm, and other trees. 
Hy. Unuyerr. 
Tue CHANTARELLE (Cantharellus 
cibarius). ‘‘ What be yer a goin to 
do with they things ?’’ said a son of 
the soil to me the other day. I had 
in my hand a basket of golden Chan- 
tarelles, to which allusion was thus 
unceremoniously made. “I am 
going to eat them,’’ I replied. ‘To 
eat em! Why they’re toadstools !’’ 
responded my friend : whereupon I 
gave him a short, and, I flattered 
myself, able account of the various 
edible fungi which surround us at 
this season. He listened—looked 
on me with evident pity—and then 
turned away in lofty contempt. A 
year ago, I should have been as un- | 
likely to eat fungi from the wuods 
as he—but eaperientia docet—and I 
am now an ardent admirer of Chan- 
tarelles from a culinary, as well as 
from an xsthetic point of view. Last | 
Autumn, I sent a box of our wood- | 
ERRATA in No. 1. 
land fungi to a friend in town, who 
is ‘‘well up’’ in such things. He 
returned me a rough sketch of one, 
to which he appended a short de- 
scription, with the practical remark, 
“Kat it.’” This was the Chantarelle. 
Accordingly, I collected sufficient 
for a dressing, and, after they had 
been well washed and trimmed, 
had them stewed, with butter, 
pepper, and salt, after the manner of 
mushrooms, and served upon aslice 
of toast. On this occasion, they 
were stewed somewhat too rapidly ; 
and the result might be briefly de- 
scribed as tough, and I was the only 
partaker of the dish. During the 
last month, however, three dishes 
of Chantarelles have appeared upon 
our breakfast table, and haye’ been 
thoroughly appreciated by the fa- 
mily. Their flayour is similar to 
that of a mild mushroom. Those 
who feel inclined to taste for them- 
selves, may find Chantarelles in 
almost every one of our Wycombe 
woods, from the latter end of August 
till the end of October or beginning 
of November. They are easily re- 
cognisable, being of a rich yellow 
colour all over; the stem is very 
thick, gradually expanding into the 
top, or pileus, which is funnel-shaped, 
and smooth, thus differing from the 
umbrella-form assumed by the mush- 
room, and many more of our common 
fungi. The gills are very thick, and 
look more like veins; and the whole 
plant is sometimes imbedded in 
leaves, the top only appearing. 
Chantarelles grow sometimes singly, 
and sometimes in patches; they 
have a peculiar scent, which is said 
to resemble that of apricots, though 
I confess myself unable to discover 
this likeness. A great deal more 
information regarding this and other 
edible fungi, may be found ina little 
illustrated book, price 6s., entitled 
“A Plain and Easy Account of 
British Fungi,” written by Mr. M. 
C. Cooke, and published at 192, 
Piccadilly, to which I beg to refer 
my readers. 
James Britten. 
Page 16, line sixteen from the top, for ‘* Water” 
read ‘ Walter.”’ Page 17, lineten from top, for “Alkekeng”’ read “Alkehengi.” 
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