Papular JBCctuwars nf &mmntetr ^ature. 453 



weeks together, if undisturbed, Nightingales 

 will sit on the same tree, begin their song 

 in the evening, and, with short interruptions, 

 continue it throughout the night. It is 

 therefore by no means wonderful that their 

 sweet notes and unceasing perseverance in 

 pouring forth such a volume of rich melody, 

 when all else is hushed in the silence of 

 night, should have been the theme for poets 

 in all ages to descant on ; but that the phi- 

 losophic Gessner should gravely relate a long 

 story respecting this bird's oratorical talents, 

 and describe the conversation which a friend 



, 

 of his heard between two of them while pass- boat, or the stroke of the oars, is marked by 



ing a sleepless night at an inn in Ratisbon, 

 is not only too much for human credibility, 

 but almost too much for human patience. 



We conclude witli a passage from Sturm : 

 " When we listen to the brilliant sounds of 

 that voice, we are apt to conclude that the 

 bird must be large, that the throat must 

 have great strength ; and the inimitable 

 charm of her melodious notes makes us pre- 

 sume she surpasses all others in the beauty 

 of her form. But it would be to no purpose 

 to seek these advantages in the Nightingale : 

 it is a bird of poor appearance, whose colour, 

 form, and the whole of its exterior, is void 

 of anything attractive or majestic. Nature 

 has, however, compensated for its plainness, 



NIGHT-JAR. [See GOATSUCKER.] 



NOCTILTJCA. A minute genus of Aca- 

 lephce, often seen on our own coasts, which 

 in size and appearance much resembles a 

 grain of boiled sago, or a little granule of 

 jelly with a long stalk, the stalk appearing 

 to be a trunk or sucking-tube. The lumi- 

 nous property of these minute Acalephas 

 always appears to become more vivid when 

 the animals are alarmed or stimulated in any 

 way : hence the curling of the waves, and 

 their ripple on the shore, the movement of a 



lines of increased brilliancy. Nay, if the 

 hands be dipped in the water thus phos- 

 phorescent, and then rubbed together, they 

 will be covered with luminous spots, oc- 

 casioned by these delicately-formed little 

 animals, the bodies of which arc often so 

 transparent, that they can scarcely be distin- 

 guished from the water, except when dis- 

 playing their phosphorescence. When we 

 consider that the whole surface of the ocean, 

 as fat as the eye can reach, is sometimes seen 

 to exhibit a uniform luminosity, and it is 

 ascertained to be due to these otherwise 

 almost invisible atoms, the vast amount of 

 organic life that ordinarily escapes our notice 

 must strike the most inattentive observer of 

 by giving it a voice irresistibly charming, j the works of Nature with astonishment and 



Listen to its fine long quivering notes : what 

 variety, sweetness, and brilliancy in them 1 

 When she begins her song, she seems to 

 study and compose beforehand the melo- 

 dious notes she wishes to be heard. She 

 begins softly : then the notes swell gra- 

 dually, till they run with the rapidity of a 

 torrent : she goes from serious to gay, from 

 simple notes to the wildest warblings ; from 



admiration. 



NOCTUID^E. An extensive family of 

 Lepidopterous insects, corresponding with 

 the Linntean section Phulcena JVoctua. The 

 body is robust, and clothed with scales ; the 

 antennae almost always simple, or but rarely 

 pectinated or ciliated in the males ; the tho- 

 rax stout, and often crested ; and the mouth 



simple notes to the wildest warblings ; from rax stout, and often crested ; and the mouth 

 the lightest turns and shakes to languishing well developed, the maxillae being greatly 

 "ighs ; and has, throughout the whole, the ! elongated. The wings are of moderate size, 

 ._. *~ -,i ---- *i ---- : * _-_ mi,!- u,-_j --- I 



art to please the nicest ear. This bird may 

 give rise to many useful and edifying re- 

 flections : for example, we learn this truth 

 from it, that homeliness of body is some- 

 times united with very estimable qualities, 

 and does not exclude beauty from the soul. 

 When we hear the skilful harmony of the 

 Nightingale, does it not naturally lead us 

 to the Creator, from whom she has this 

 talent ? W r hat wisdom must there be in the 



tn strong nervures, and ear-shaped spots 

 on the disc of the anterior pair ; and when in j 

 repose the wings are ordinarily deflexed at ! 

 the sides of the body. The larva?, for the 

 most part, are naked, with sixteen feet ; and 

 they in general undergo their transforma- j 

 tions underground in cocoons, often formed | 

 of particles of earth mixed in with the silk. : 

 The typical groups of this family, as their ' 

 name imports, fly only by night, and repose 



aen a wsom mus ere e n e name mpors, y ony y ngt, an repose 



formation of this bird, to make it capable of \ during the day in the crevices of the bark of 

 giving utterance to such sounds ! Lungs so i trees, old walls, palings, &c.: there are others, 

 ,.,... ~ ^ ---- . ~ m=*M ----- ... ...... "'. fly also during the afternoon 



t. The generality of these 

 in very sombre colours ; but 



delicate as those of the Nightingale, the 

 motions of which are so violent, must be 

 easily wounded, if they had not the singular 

 advantage of being fastened to the back- 

 bone by a number of little sinews. The 

 orifice of the windpipe is very large, and 

 that is certainly what most contributes to 

 the variety of those sounds, which, in charm- 

 ing the ear, fill the soul with sweet and 

 pious joy. Is it possible not to trace a divine 

 wisdom and providence in this ? and will 

 not even the song of the Nightingale lead us 

 to glorify the Author of all nature ? Lovely 

 songstress I I will not leave thee till I have 

 learned from thee the art of praising my 

 Creator and thine. O pour, with thy song, 

 gratitude and joy into the hearts of the many 

 insensible mortals who contemplate the beau- 

 ties of the creation with indifference." 



however, which fly also during the afternoon 

 and at twilight. The 

 insects appear in very f 

 in some species, more accustomed to be 

 abroad in the day-time, the wings, especially 

 the posterior ones, are occasionally more 

 gaudy : this is the case with the Catocalce or 

 Scarlet Underwing Moths ; whilst the PJwrite 

 are bedecked with spots and patches of silver 

 or gold. There is a considerable diversity j 

 in the form of the wings ; in general the an- i 

 terior ones are elongate-triangn'ar, and the 

 posterior somewhat triangular-orbiculate ; 

 and it is further to be observed that the an- I 

 terior wings are mostly adorned with two j 

 stigmata, one round or nearly so, and the , 

 other reniform. The larvoa are usually soli- ! 

 tary ; and they neither reside in a web, nor 

 are they subcutaneous. 



