1200 The Zoologist— May, 1868. 



the same, viz. if you split ten thousand of the berries, you discover 

 nothing but an animated germ. It grows in shallow water, and is 

 frequently accompanied by the water plantain : its berry is about the 

 size of a red currant, and comes on progressively, after the manner of 

 juniper in the berry : the germ is first discoverable about the middle 

 of June, and continues till the frost subdues it: and my conjectures 

 lead me to say that one luxurious plant shall be the mother of many 

 scores of flies. I call it the fly-berry plant." * 



"The extract from William Hone's 'Table Book' I am much 

 obliged for, as I wish to trace the history of the knowledge of galls by 

 naturalists, who for long appear to have had very erroneous opinions 

 respecting them : this is strongly shown by this extract from Hone's 

 book, which is on a par with the odd ideas formerly entertained of the 

 barnacle goose. The plant known as 'brooklime' is Veronica becca- 

 bunga, found in slow shallow streams in June and July. There is a 

 plant 'brook-weed' (Samolus Valerandi), growing in marshes and 

 moist meadows, but I never saw or heard of galls on either, and it is 

 almost too late to search for them, I was going to say, but I think not, 

 as they will be to be found long after the flowering time." — W. A. in 

 lift. October 2, 1865. 



This gall on "brooklime" is still unknown to me. Can anyone 

 find it? 



I must now bring this disconnected chapter to a close, and begin to 

 point out a few cases of galls as yet imperfectly known. I add a few 

 words of reference, relating to galls fully described by authors, but for 

 which I can give new localities. If it should seem almost useless to 

 anyone that I have endeavoured to be particular in giving exact 

 localities even for common galls, I would remind him that it is by no 

 means proved in all instances that the geographical distribution of the 

 food-plants accords everywhere with the horizontal or vertical spread 

 of the insects, and that, however 6lender our present knowledge of the 

 habitats may be, a time may reasonably be anticipated when gaps will 

 be filled up and when even fragmentary lists of localities will meet 

 with approval at the hands of a generalizing mind. 



The galls my memoranda refer to are on — 



Aspen (Populus tremula). — Pea-sized gall, produced by Cecidomyia 

 polymorpha, Bremi (Beitraege zu einer Monographic der Gallmiicken, 

 1847, p. 15, and tab. 1, fig. 14). Locality : Radolfszell, on the Lake 

 of Constance, August, 1867. 



* William Hone's « Table Book,' 1831, p. 145. 



