ISO A NEW ZEALAND NATURALIST'S CALENDAR. 



only enables water and carbon dioxide to penetrate and 

 attack the minerals forming it, but facilitates the move- 

 ments of worms in it. 



Another direct gain is the destruction of noxious insect 

 life which follows severe frost, though this is probably 

 usually over-estimated. Take the case of our commonest 

 fruit-tree, the apple. Its worst enemies are the common 

 woolly aphis and the mussel scale. In both cases it matters 

 not whether all the old insects are killed off or not, the 

 eggs are the all important means of propagating. If we 

 lift one of the mussel-scales with the point of a penknife 

 and examine the underside with the aid of a magnifying 

 glass, we shall find that it is merely an empty case covering 

 from 50 to 100 eggs. The female insects are all dead and 

 their shrivelled bodies may be seen inside the scale. But 

 the eggs are all alive and no frost that is ever experienced 

 in New Zealand affects them. In spring they will all hatch 

 out as usual, and about November or December the young 

 insects will probably be seen running over the twigs during 

 their short period of activity, 



But it is more wonderful how many large insects manage 

 to survive low temperatures. Only the other day, after a 

 continuance of frosty weather, a change of wind and brief 

 rise of temperature brought out a fine large Vanessa butter- 

 fly, while in one of my rooms a small black wasp was flying 

 about quite actively, having come in by the open window. 

 The insects become torpid and sluggish with the cold not 

 necessarily, however, suffering the tortures which we 

 imagine for them and whenever they get a little warmth 

 their faculties revive and out they come. 



I do not remember a winter in which there has been such 

 a scarcity of flowers as the present one. This is probably 

 not due to the late severe weather, except to a small extent. 

 The want of summer and autumn heat, and the very cold 

 weather experienced throughout the greater part of May 

 had probably more to do with checking vegetation than 

 anything else. Meanwhile the recent cold will do no harm, 

 bxit rather good, in retarding development, and we shall all 

 the more enjoy the first general outburst of spring flowers. 



