HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



35 



with the natural tendency of the channel of the Stour 

 and Avon, to breach the shingle bank near the former 

 place of outfall. 



In the case of Hastings, it is evident that during 

 the ages when it possessed an excellent harbour in 

 the Priory Valley, scarcely any shingle could have 

 been deposited about the harbour's mouth. This 

 was probably due chiefly to two influences. Firstly, 

 the deposition of immense quantities of eastward- 

 travelling shingle in Pevensey Bay. Secondly, the 

 retention of a large proportion of the rest by the 

 island (about one-and-half miles long, and half a 

 mile broad), shown on Norden's map of Sussex (1616) 

 and on Morden's map half a century later, as existing 

 off the coast of St. Leonards. This island has since 

 gradually disappeared. But if, as is highly probable, 

 it was, previous to the Norman Conquest, both larger 

 and closer to the mainland than in Norden's time, 

 vast quantities of shingle must then have been re- 

 tained on its western side. At a later date, the 

 shingle, instead of being retained by the island or 

 progressing round its southern coast to places east- 

 ward of Hastings, would pass between the island and 

 the shore, and be deposited largely in the Priory 

 Valley. The effect on the harbour of Hastings of 

 the reduction in size and ultimate destruction of this 

 island, must have been similar to that which would 

 occur at Portland Harbour as the result of a breach 

 in the Chesil Bank. 



At the time of the Domesday Survey, the town in 

 the Priory Valley had dwindled almost to nothing, 

 while the New Burgh of Hastings, in the Eastern or 

 Bourne valley, had begun to flourish. But the 

 Boume Valley evidently never possessed a natural 

 basin comparable to that which once existed west of 

 the Castle Hill. So generally does the importance 

 of the earliest of the harbours of Hastings seem to 

 have been forgotten, that in Horsfield's " History of 

 Sussex," (1835), t Qe Priory Harbour is not men- 

 tioned, but we read that in ancient days Hastings is 

 said to have had a good harbour formed by a large 

 wooden pier, which projected from the centre of the 

 Marine Parade in a south-east direction. (The 

 Marine Parade is a little east of the Castle Hill.) 

 But in Queen Elizabeth's reign this pier was de- 

 stroyed by a storm. As late as the year 1834, it was 

 proposed that a harbour should be formed westward 

 of the Priory Bridge, which, judging from a map 

 showing Hastings about the year 1820, must have 

 stood close to the site of the Clock-tower. But 

 nothing was done. 



The visitor to Hastings, who now looks down from 

 the old entrenchment on Castle Hill, must then re- 

 member that the western valley, in which all the 

 buildings are more or less new, is the site of oldest 

 Hastings, while the much more ancient-looking town 

 in the eastern valley is, nevertheless, the "New 

 Burgh." But though the former existence of the 

 oldest town is almost forgotten, and though Horsfield, 



speaking of the parish of Holy Trinity, says that the 

 Priory Farm forms the greater part of this district, 

 and that up to the year 1S00 the remaining part was 

 waste and unoccupied, yet in the revived site of old 

 Hastings, and not in the New Burgh, are now to be 

 seen the most attractive shops, and the densest 

 throngs of visitors. Nor is any place of amusement 

 more popular in the summer months than' the 

 cricket-ground on the site of the once-famous harbour 

 of the Premier Cinque Port. 



THE BRITISH PERLID^E OR STONE- 

 FLIES. 



By W. H. Nunney. 



THE insects forming the subject of this short 

 essay are a transition group of the Perenni- 

 branchiate division of the Pseudo-Neuroptera, con- 

 necting the cockroaches and crickets of the Orthoptera 

 with the neuropterous Ephemeridse or May-flies. 

 Christened Perlidte by systematic naturalists, they 

 are popularly known in this country by the collective 

 names of stone-flies, pearl-flies, and water-crickets, 

 this last name, however, being of American origin. 

 Popular names have also been given to the better- 

 known species by anglers, who frequently utilise 

 these insects as an attractive bait for trout and other 

 fishes. 



In Britain, at least, the Perlidse have attracted 

 little attention, the Neuroptera generally having but 

 few students. This neglect is doubtless, in a measure, 

 accounted for by the habits of the creatures them- 

 selves, their mostly small size and sombre colour. 

 No really trustworthy guide to the native species has 

 been published in English ; indeed, the literature 

 relating to the group is comparatively meagre, and, 

 with the exception of Professor Pictet's fine but 

 costly work on the subject in French, is widely 

 scattered in various general entomologies and 

 periodicals. Such being the case, it is hardly neces- 

 sary for me to offer any apology for the present paper, 

 written as it is with the idea of providing a ready 

 index to the indigenous species of this family, and 

 thus inducing British entomologists to elucidate much 

 that in the history of the group is still obscure. 



The difficulties which stand in the way of a student 

 of the group are, unfortunately, not few. The non- 

 existence of good typical collections open to general 

 view, and the want in our public libraries of several 

 of the most important works of reference, as well as 

 minor difficulties, combine to render research much 

 harder than should be the case. The present author 

 has, so far as possible, worked out the synonomy of 

 species (this is, however, not given here for fairly 

 obvious reasons) ; but, in some instances, not having 

 been able to refer to the original types, errors must 

 almost unavoidably have crept in. As Mr. McLachlan 

 (the British authority on all matters neuropterological) 



