Vol.VII— Kfo.15. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



117 



ways. If she would even keep her own trade, 

 and command tlie resources already developed, 

 fllassachusetts must do something, and that short- 

 ly, to prevent the tendency to diversion which her 

 natural situation presents. 



A Rail Road through the State would be a 

 small kmrk for the State to accomplish. Look ut 

 it, a nionient. Compare it with the works of im- 

 provement which the people of villages, and which 

 individuals, are constantly undertaking and easily 

 accomplishing. Go into one of our thriving man- 

 ufacturing villages, where a handsome Meeting 

 house has sprung up, as if by enchantment. This 

 wo||fe.easily as it has been accomplished, was a 

 greater undertaking for its projectors than would 

 be a Rail Road for the State. Look at the im- 

 provements in the principal street in this village. 

 The mere paving of a side walk is a greater work 

 for the owners of the House lots by whom it has 

 been done, than a State Rail Road from Boston to 

 Berkshire. A direct tax upon the people, for the 

 whole expense of .such a road, would not fall heav- 

 ier on individuals than the tax which has been 

 readily incurred in impi'oving half a mile of the 

 highway through the centre of this town. But 

 then there would be no need of such a tax. The 

 credit of the State would accomplish it ; and all 

 the effect which the people would feel, would be 

 in the benefits derived from the expenditure of 

 the money necessary for its construction, and from 



the use of the road when completed Worcester 



Ycomaji. 



PEACHES. 



A few days since Mr. Josiah Allen, Jr. of Attle- 

 boro', exhibited in our market among the variety 

 of other fruit, a (|iiantity of the Heath Peach, 

 which Jie has cultivated in his orchard. Of thi.s 

 delicious fruit the following description is given in 

 Thacher's Orchardist : — •' Of all ])eaches — of all 

 fruits, it is said there is none equal in flavor to the 

 American Heath Peach, a clingstone. It is large, j 

 weighing near a pound, in conmion. It is gene- 

 rally the last sort that ripens." 



]Mr. Allen, we are informed, has taken great 

 pains to procure the most choice kinds of fruit, for 

 wliieh he now realizes ample remuneration. 



Pawtucket Chronicle. 



SQUIRRELS. 



These animals are making great havoc among 

 the crops in Illinois, Indiana, &c. One man kil- 

 led 400 in his field in one day, and the next morn- 

 ing they were as numerous as ever. They are 

 constantly swimming across the Wabash, Ohio, & 

 Mississippi rivers, and are killed by the boys in 

 great immbers at their landings. They swim a- 

 cross rivers from a mile to a mile and a half in 

 width Hamp. Gazette. 



SILK WORMS. 



Mr. Abbott, of Leominster, Mass. after success- 

 ful experiments in the raising of silk worms, and 

 obtaining their silk, has this year set out several 

 hundred white mulberry trees, in further pursuit 

 of this enterprising and amusing employment. 



BUFFALOES. 



The only beasts used for draught by the Euro- 

 pean Turks arc buffaloes, and cream colored 

 oxen. The buffaloes are huge, clumsy animals, 

 and the Turks never eat their flesh except on one 

 occasion. Strings of blue beads are hung about 

 their horns and neck to preserve them from the 

 effects of the evii eye. 



COJXTRIBUTIONS TO ENTOMOLOGY. 



IIV THADDEUS WILLIAM HARRIS, M. U. 

 No. II. 



Family Carabidrc. 



This extensive family contains numerous spe- 

 cies which are arranged under various genera. 

 The perfect insects usually conceal themselves 

 during day under stones, and fly abroad at night. 

 Like the Cicindelse they live by rapine, and devour 

 such insects as they can conquer, not always spar- 

 ing those of their own family. Some species ate 

 to be found in the day-time searching for their 

 l)rey in highways, or on plants. Some inhabit 

 beneath the bark of trees, and a few appear to 

 feed on the pollen of flowers. Most of them ex- 

 hale an offensive odour, which remains on the 

 fingers a long time after handling them. Others 

 emit from the month br tail a caustic acid liquor, 

 highly volatile, and initating to the skin. Having 

 incautiously taken up Carabus sylvosus it assailed 

 me with a sudden jet of this fluid, several drops 

 of which reached my face, produced an acute 

 scalding sensation, and left spots which remained 

 inflamed for some hours. The species of tlie 

 genus Brachinus have been long celebrated for 

 their crepitating powers. Mr. Kirby calls thcin 

 "the true counterparts of the skunk, exploding a 

 most fetid vapor from the ordinary passage." This 

 is the insect's mode of defence against its assail- 

 ants, which it bombards with lepeated discharges 

 of smoke and noise, gun-boat like, from behind. 

 The American bombardiers are fully equal, in this 

 respect, to foreign species. The CarabidtE were 

 employed by ancient physicians as internal reme- 

 dies in various diseases; their acrid qualities might 

 render them useful as external irritants, or as sub- 

 .stitutes for blistering flies. 



But few of the larvae are known. Their habits 

 are predaceons ; they are serviceable in destroy- 

 ing smaller insects and cater|)illars, and do not 

 attack or injure vegetation. They dwell in the 

 ground, but some of the larger kinds have been 

 found on trees, inhabiting the nests of caterpillars, 

 and conmiitting great havoc among them. The 

 redoubtable enemy of the cut-worm appears to be 

 one of the family. 



The general shape of the larva is long, linear, 

 flattened above, with strong curved juws^ix legs 

 near the head, a distinct thoracic shield, and an 

 anal proleg. They are blackish in color, and ac- 

 tive in motion. 



GENUS BRACHINUS. 



B. ''medius. Testaceous, elytra, dull reddisli jiur- 

 ple, ohsoletely and broadly striated, autcmi.e fu- 

 scous. 



Length five twentieths of an inch. 



Body pale ferruginous or testaceous, with very 

 short, decumbent, pale, ochreous hairs. Head 

 with rugose impressions near the aiitennai. Two 

 first joints and base of the third joint of tlie an- 

 tennae testaceous, remaining ones fusccous. An- 

 terior angles of the thorax obtusely rounded, dise 

 very convex, with deep medial and submarsjinai 

 impressed hues. Elytra somewhat polished, red- 

 dish purple, with six or .seven obsolete and shal- 

 low stria\ Feet ferruginous, hody beneath darker. 

 It is found beneath stones, and is sufficiently dis- 

 tinct from others by the regularly curved anterior 

 angles of the thorax. 



E. *7ninutiis. Thorax dark ferruginous, obiong- 

 cordate, elytra blackish purple, antennae and ven- 

 ti'al segments fuscous. 



Length one fifth of an inch. 

 Head, thorax, and feet dark ferruginous, almosl 

 castaneous. Antennie fuscous, except the two 

 basal joints which are ferruginous. Head with 

 two longitudinal indentations between the eyes. 

 Thorax oblong-cordate, anterior angles subacute, 

 i disc very convex, middle longitudinally impressed. 

 I Elytra blackish purple, with a greenish tinge, 

 ! ohsoletely striate the alternate interstitial lines 

 ' more elevated than the intermediate ones. Body 

 j beneath castancous-brown, ventral .segments fus- 

 ccous. 



j Inhabits beneath stones, but is rare. The shape 



j of the thorax approaches to that of the crepitans. 



I Our most common species is ihe J'umans, F., which 



somewhat resembles the above in color.s, but i>^ 



over half an inch long. 



GENUS ZUPHIUM. 



z. *bicolor. Pubescent, reddish-bay ; coleoptra 

 and abdomen castaneous, thorax canaliculate, ely 



1 tra sulcate, antennae compressed. 



j Length over eleven twentieths of an inch ; — 

 breadth of eoleo|)tra between three and four twen- 

 tieths of an incli. 



I Body reddish bay, with short decumbent, fer- 

 ruginous pul.'cscence. Head puuclured ; a lateral 



: longitudinal impression each side near the anten- 

 na; ; neck distinct, impuncturcd ; second and third 

 joints of the antennaj nearly e((ual in length, and 

 with the first obconic ; terminal joint flattened, 



i oblong, ronndcfl at ti|) ; intermediate joints trans- 



, verse, gradual!}' broader to the penultimate one, 



! and laterally compressed. Palpi with obconic 

 joints, the terminal ones largest and truncate at 

 tip. Thorax cordate, truncate before and behind, 

 rather wider than long, autcrior angles rounded, 

 posterior ones slightly excurved, subacute ; disc 

 d"f ])ly and distmctly punctured, and longitudinal- 

 ly canaliculate. Coleoptra parallclogramical, ba- 

 sal and external apical angles rounded, disc ches- 

 nut colored, paler at base, widely grooved, the 

 grooves punctured, obsolete at tip ; external sub- 

 margin with a few, remote, larger, ocellate jiunc- 

 tures. Body bpiu;atli jiunctured, jjectus postpec- 

 tus and feet redilish bay, ventral segments casta- 

 neous. Tarsi with entire joints. 



This insect must be very rare. The specimen 

 from which this description is taken was presented 

 me by Charles Pickering, M. D., who found it in 

 the vicinity of Salem. Some doubts existing re- 

 specting the proprie'ty of placing it in the genus- 

 zui'HiuM, the characters of the s|)ecies are de- 

 tailed particularly with reference to elucidating 

 the genus, no other sjiecies of which I have seen. 



GTNUS HARPALUS. 



II. '"striceus. Black, punctured, pube3cent a- 



■i;.! 



bove ; antennas annulatcd with redilisn-brown and 

 fuscous ; thoracic angles rounded ; tibise and tarsi 

 reddish brov/n. 



Length of the male two-fifths of an inch, of the 

 female rather more. 



Body depressed, brownish black, opaque, with 

 distinct large punctures, and short, decumbent, 

 ferruginous jiubescence above. Mandibles cas- 

 taneous, |ialpi aiKl three basal joints of the anten- 

 na reddi^-h bay, each of the remaining ones ot' the 

 same color at the tip, and fuscous at base. Tho- 

 rax distinctly margined, angles rounded, the pos- 

 terior ones very obtusely ; disc not much elevated, 

 dorsal and basal lines obsolete, and in the ])lace 

 of the latter a broad, shallov,', confluently punc- 

 tured depression, uniting with the dilated lateral 



