992 ENTOMOLOGICAL RAMBLES IN THE MIDLANDS. 
This willbe attended by the additional advantage of admitting of friends 
from other districts joining our party at the Trent Valley Junction. 
Crossing the Trent and passing through a part of the town, we are soon 
in the open country, the wide stretch of undulating heather-clad ground 
before us indicating unmistakably that we are on the very threshold of 
Cannock Chase. As we presson, eager and hopeful, we are struck by the 
peculiar features of the spot, forming as they do a perfect contrast to the 
scene of our first Ramble. Instead of dense woods hemming us in on 
every side, we have before us an extensive moorland tract, covered with 
heather and bracken and a thick carpet of bilberry, cowberry, and crow- 
berry, the only woodland features being, now and then, a straggling 
thicket of haggard, storm-torn birches, and, in the distance, a long, 
narrow strip of coppice, known as the “ Huntington Belt.” Boggy 
ground is not uncommon, whilst here and there we come upon a bright 
sparkling streamlet dancing merrily along its pebbly course. 
At Bewdley, we were so hemmed in by copse on copse, piled in 
massive and silent grandeur around and above as far as the eye could 
scan, that frequently the absence of “ air in motion” affected usin a way 
and to an extent scarcely credible. In the midst of our sport, almost 
gasping in the stagnant, humid air, a feeling of solemnity has suddenly 
sprung up in our minds, as if the guardian spirit of the region had, in 
passing, touched us with his invisible form, and evolved sensations of 
mystery and awe from the depths within. Here, on the contrary, where 
sportive breezes seem perpetually to play, languor is unknown, and we 
tread the springy soil with a buoyancy and freedom almost ethereal. 
But not only do we notice a change of soil and landscape, even the 
insects are, for the most part, of types divergent from those to be found 
at Bewdley. Thisis, of course, only what might be expected from the 
totally different conditions under which they exist. Our method of pro- 
cedure must also be altered to suit our new surroundings. The umbrella 
(for beating into) and the sweeping-net are useless encumbrances 
here, but the digger and knee-pad are absolute necessities. The 
digger (a strong fern trowel is best) will save the fingers in turning over 
stones and refuse, the knee-pad (of stout leather) will save the operator 
from headache and backache, and will prevent the knees and trousers 
being cut by sharp pebbles. As was the case in describing our Bewdley 
Ramble, we have not time to do more than merely hint at the charms of 
the “chase” to sightseers, but must limit ourselves strictly to the 
entomological features of the locality. The novelty of the ‘first view” 
having worn off, and having satisfied ourselves that our instrumenta belli 
are effective, we proceed to explore this ‘‘fresh field,” in the hope that 
the result will prove it to be another ‘‘ happy hunting ground.”  A¢ first 
we see onlya few common species of moths and beetles, the Heath Moth, 
Fidonia atomaria, being, fromits abundance, a perfect nuisance, and the 
dull, puffy Adimonia suturalis dropping in hundreds from the heather at 
the slightest touch. Look into this drain-hole by the roadside, and see 
how thickly these beetles, alive and dead, strew the bottom. They have, 
evidently, fallen over the sides, and are too lazy, or too stupid, to make 
ee ee ee, 
