I 3 2 



FIELD AND FOREST. 



more or less, and this peculiarity appears 

 in most of them. 



Is it accidental or local, or has any one 

 else ever noticed it in this or any other 

 species of Scirpus? — Thomas Morong. 



Death Trap to Bees. — It has been 



noticed in England that large numbers of 

 bees have been destroyed by getting wedged 

 in the tube of the corolla of the Tritoma 

 or "red hot poker" which they have en- 

 tered to obtain the abundant supply of 

 honey found within. These numerous 

 tubes prove to be so many traps from which 

 bees, lured on by treacherous sweets 

 cannot extricate themselves. 



Phylloxera. — A late remedy, or rathe r 

 proposed remedy for the Phylloxera is to 

 remove the bark from the stocks of the 

 vine during the winter, when the winter 

 eggs of the creature, said to be deposited 

 in and under the bark, may be destroyed 

 by an insecticide, or by the application of 

 hot water. Next ? 



Winter Butterflies. — A correspon- 

 dent in Denton County, Texas, records 

 the capture of Melitaea phceton on Christ- 

 mas day. The insect was upon the wing, 

 and as lively as a butterfly in spring time. 

 Other butterflies were seen but not cap- 

 tured. 



He further states that post oak mast 

 was destroyed last fall .by the weevil 

 {JBalanninus nasicus or rectus.) The larvse 

 were fed upon by small birds but not in 

 time to save the mast. 



Large Walnuts. — Dr. Schneck. of 

 Mt. Carmel, 111., notices in the Botanical 

 Gazette a small Juglans nigra about six 

 inches in diameter and twenty feet high, 

 which bore three pecks of fruit averaging 

 nearly nj^ inches in circumference and 

 io^f ounces in weight. The tree grows 



in a field, and has no unusual appearance, 

 except the fruit, which looks more like the 

 Osage Orange. 



A Colorado Yellow Jacket. 



(After Bret Harte — or our Entomologist.) 



Run ? thunder'n lightnin' ! I'll jest bet 

 My pile of yaller dust on that — 

 Right there the durned bug-eater * set 

 As sly and knowin' as a cat, 

 Watchin' that ar' hole in the ground. 

 'Hello ! buggy' sez I. — i came 

 A little nigher — 'what ye found, 

 And what's hes edicated name, 

 Some new varmint ?' There he sot, 

 A pair o' tweezers in one hand, 

 A bottle on the ground. — You'd thought 

 He'd struck a lead there in the sand. 

 'Caught any yit ?' sez I. Just then 

 A yaller jacket showed a phiz 

 Above board — buggy at him, when, ^ 

 Out flew five hundred .right at his ; 

 Ye mind, the little beast was game 

 And raised the whole blamed ranche to 



once't. 

 Run ? thunder'n lightnin' ! Well, I'm- 



sore 

 For laughin' to see the cuss git — 

 Clare into camp — and what is more, 

 He ha'n't got that ar' bottle yit." 

 Colorado Springs, iSyi. C. R. D. 



Late Arrivals at Zoological Gardens, 

 Philadelphia. — Two Chinese Geese, 

 (Ansercygnoides;)two Marmosets, (Hapale 

 jacchus ;) two Barn Owls, (Strix flammea 

 var. americana;) two Opossums, (Didelphys 

 virginiana ;) two Red-shouldered Hawks, 

 (Buteo lineatus ;) one Eland, male, (Oreas 

 canna;) one Siren, (Siren lacertina;) Pre- 

 sented, one Bald eagle, (Hahaetus leuco- 

 cephalus;) two Rough-legged Buzzards, 



* Our old teamster informed us that in Rocky 

 Mountain parlance, a worthless fellow is called a 

 ■' bug eater." 



