6 The Naturalist in Siluria. 



and newts, these last hideous creatures of at least two 

 distinct species, the common or (t smooth " (Triton punc- 

 tatus), an alligator in miniature, and the crested, or 

 " warty " (T. cristatus), which more resembles the real 

 Nilotic crocodile, or its congener of the Senegal. Lizards, 

 too, are among our land reptiles, and with. these most 

 modern naturalists class the slow-worm, which, though 

 having some affinities with the lizard family, is certainly 

 nearer to the serpent in habit, as it is in " personal >J 

 appearance. 



Of fishes we have the usual freshwater species ; my 

 brook and pond, however, yielding only trout, eels, min- 

 nows, and the wicked little bullhead (Cottus gobio), which, 

 incautiously taken up in the hand, bites like a very shark. 

 But below, in the " wandering Wye/' the salmon, king 

 of fish, holds court, having for his subjects a variety of 

 finny and scaly creatures, among them the famed lam- 

 prey, a delicate morsel, though it did prove indigestible 

 in the stomach of a king. 



Insects ? Ah ! we have them in swarms, myriads ; 

 the Wye's valley being a very garden of Eden for the 

 entomologist, who may here fling his net over butterflies 

 bright as summer flowers, and capture Scarabasans of 

 hues vivid as tropic sun ever shone upon. But he had 

 well beware when seeking them ; for t^ the dry banks 

 " whereon the wild thyme grows " are wasps and hornets; 

 and amid the lush vegetation of the moist Wyeside woods 

 sings and stings the mosquito (Oulex pipiens), while the 

 "harvest bug" (Leptus autnmnalis), a near relative of 

 the West Indian "jigger/' if not the veritable thing it- 

 self, though no larger than a particle of Cayenne pepper, 

 which it ludicrously resembles, inserts its tiny nippers 

 into the skin the result an intolerable itching. 



