APRIL. yg 



as Peripatus. It is a creature of very primitive type of 

 structure, not an insect, though somewhat like one in 

 general appearance, but a form of perhaps greater antiquity 

 than any insect type. It resembles a velvety caterpillar, 

 of a brown or purplish colour, but differs in possessing 

 about a score of pairs of feet, and carries a pair of short 

 stout antenna? in front of the head. It is a very sluggish- 

 looking little animal during the day-time, but moves about 

 more freely in the dark. When irritated it ejects from 

 glands in the front part of the body small jets of an 

 extremely viscid material, so that if any fly, spider, or 

 other small animal were to attack it, the aggressor would 

 be immediately glued up by threads of this sticky sub- 

 stance. While it can thus defend itself, it is not an 

 ascertained fact whether the secretion is for defence 

 purposes or for catching prey. I have often kept these 

 little creatures in confinement and could make them fire 

 off their artillery by a little judicious poking with a twig. 

 If, however, a fly was held to one of them, a discharge of 

 secretion was immediately poured on it. Later on, when 

 the victim was dead or motionless from the glueing action 

 of the viscid substance, the Peripatus returned at its 

 leisure and ate it up. I found that when well supplied 

 with flies these animals increased in my vivaria, but if 

 they were forgotten for a time their numbers diminished 

 mysteriously, the big ones evidently having absorbed the 

 little ones. This phenomenon is not, of course, confined 

 to Peripatus ; it is very common among the lower animals, 

 fishes being great sinners in this respect ; and it is liable to 

 occur even among the higher animals when they are kept 

 in confinement. 



April is thus seen to furnish much of interest to the 

 naturalist. Vegetation is largely in a state of rest, but 

 the animal world is still vigorous, and has not yet been 

 lulled to dormancy or perpetual sleep by the cold of winter. 



IT. 



In referring recently to those plants to be found in our 

 gardens and growing by the waysides which throw their 



