20 



At first sight it might almost be taken for a young cone ; 

 but on dissection is found, like other galls, to contain 

 insects in various stages of their growth, according to the 



Another singular appendage of the leaf is the Oak- 

 spangle, a flat circular disc, attached by its central point, 



to the under surface of the leaf. The inner side is 

 smooth ; the outer red, hairy, and fringed. Each of 

 these contains a single insect, which retains its habitation 

 until March, long after the leaves have fallen to the 

 ground. 



Another insect of the same genus (Cynips) deposits its 

 eggs at the base of the trunk, immediately above the root. 

 In the early spring of the year, 1845, I detected two galls 

 formed by this species in Merthen Wood, Cornwall. The 

 larger was about as big as a walnut, and produced in April 

 sixty small flies, much resembling winged ants. They were 

 not very active during their early existence, and possessed 

 the remarkable instinct, common to many other insects, of 

 counterfeiting death when touched. 



The galls of commerce, I may here remark, are similar 

 in their nature to those already mentioned. They are 



