86 A NATURE WOOING. 



about Ormond, though the one above mentioned was 

 the only one I saw. It is thought by most persons 

 that it is very poisonous and can even spit venom. 

 It is, however, one of the most harmless of snakes, 

 possessing no sign of a poison fang. 



March 23, 1899. The forenoon is hot and sultry. 

 I overturned once more the hay on the river bank, 

 and was rewarded with a specimen of a roach, Pyc- 

 noscelus surinamensis L., which I have not before 

 found. It is of medium size, three-quarters of an inch 

 in length by two-fifths of an inch in breadth. The 

 wings are light smoky brown, slightly longer than 

 the abdomen, while the head and pronotum are dark 

 shining brown, the latter narrowly margined in front 

 with yellow. It is said to be abundant in the tropics 

 of both hemispheres ; and in the United States occurs 

 in the Gulf and South Atlantic states. 



Among plants now in blossom hereabouts, I notice 

 an old northern friend, the Carolina cranesbill, Ger- 

 anium carolinianum L. It is common in waste places 

 along the roadways and in old fields, as is also that 

 handsome, hairy, purple phlox, Phlox amcena L. 

 The latter was noticed on March 5th, and is said to 

 bloom all winter when the season is favorable. I 

 first became acquainted with it a dozen years ago in 

 Monroe County, Indiana, where it reaches its north- 

 ern limit. 



The big green dragonfly, with spotted abdomen, 

 ^Eschna ingens Ramb., is out to-day by thousands. 



