8 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



ferent from the smilax of the woods, Smi- 

 lax rotundi folia, commonly known as 

 greenbrier, and Smilax herbacea, or the car- 

 rion-flower, the abominable odor of which 

 attracts carrion insects which undoubtedly 

 assist in its fertilization. 



The accompanying verses, applicable to 

 the cultivated smilax, appeared in the 

 Providence Journal sometime since : 



The Spirit of Modern Science. 



A lady not fond of monotony 

 Decides that she'll master Botany; 



So, taking a leaf, 



To her glee and her grief, 

 She finds that she really has not any. 



For her teacher with subtle analysis 

 (Where an innocent savor of malice is), 



Says, "Madam, ahem! 



This leaf is a stem. 

 And science must banish our fallacies." 



/ A New Bird for Rhode Island, and 

 / THE Second for New England. — A Pro- 

 thonotary Warbler was killed in South 

 Kingstown, R. I., April 21, 1884, by Mr. 

 R. G. Hazard 2d. The specimen is a 

 highly colored $ . The only other recorded 

 for New England was taken in Maine, in 

 October. The latter bird w^as doubtless a 

 straggler, but the former, appearing as it 

 does at this season, leads to the conclusion 

 that it may occur regularly, but sparingly. 

 The nature of its haunts, the worst possible 

 swamps, allows of this suggestion. Fur- 

 thermore, the song being lisping and the 

 bird very restless, enables it to better es- 

 cape detection. 



A Nonpareil Passerina ciris in Rhode Is- 

 land.— Mr. Daniel Seamans reports shoot- 

 ing a Nonpareil in Scituate, R. I., during 

 the summer of 1882, but as he was just 

 about leaving home, he could not preserve 

 it. Mr. Seamans also mounted a Richard- 

 son's Owl during the following winter. It 

 also was shot in Scituate, R. I. 



Early Woodcock. — Mr. R. G. Hazard, 

 2d, found a Woodcock's nest, April 16th, 

 that the j^oung had just left, and he col- 

 lected the shells. 



" Mr. Cobb recently married Miss Webb. 

 He knew she was meant for him , the first time 

 he spied her." 



Callidryas Eubule in Rhode Island. 



The first and only occasion upon which 

 I have met with this insect on the wing in 

 this region, was when I was collecting lepi- 

 doptera some fourteen or fifteen years ago. 



It must have been sometime during the 

 summer of 1869 or 1870, as I was walking 

 along the road which runs between the hotel 

 and the rocky shore at Narragansett Pier, 

 that I noticed among the numerous speci- 

 mens of Colias philoidiee which were flitting 

 hither and thither in their usual profusion, 

 one insect in particular which attracted my 

 attention b}- its superior size and clear yel- 

 low coloring. If I remember rightly I was 

 without my net, and it required a long and 

 tedious chase to secure the unknown visitor. 



In those days my knowledge of lepidoptera 

 was chiefly confined to what I had learned 

 from " Harris," and did not extend much 

 beyond the common species to be met with in 

 New England. I was therefore considera- 

 bly puzzled and excited over my strange 

 capture, which had hardh^ been secured, be- 

 fore, to my further surprise, several others 

 appeared upon the scene. 



I ran to the house for my net, and the pur- 

 suit of the butterflies now began in good 

 earnest. They led me along the shore road 

 toward the North Pier, and thence to a 

 rough, marsh}^ meadow, back of the beach, 

 and here I trnl3' had glorious sport. The 

 Eubule were swarming about the brilliant 

 cardinal flowers which grew in abundance, 

 and their numbers were constantly aug- 

 mented by new arrivals, which all appeared 

 to come from the south. Most of the speci- 

 mens were considerabl}' mutilated, and ap- 

 peared to have been on the wing for a con- 

 siderable time. I obtained, however, some 

 two dozen fair specimens, and some nearly 

 perfect. They were common about the 

 place for several days, and then gradually 

 disappeared. 



As I have never met with this insect alive, 

 either before or since, and have never heard 

 that it was indigenous to any localities in 

 New England, I presume that this swarm 

 of travel-worn insects, appearing suddenly 

 as the^' did, must have come from their 

 native climes a considerable distance south. 

 Howard L. Clark. 



