32 Zoophytes. 



cabinet. A. Atropos has been rare in this quarter for some years ; I 

 doubt not the very favourable weather this season may have caused 

 its appearance elsewhere. — Id, 



Nest of Vespa hritannica ? About a week ago a nest, probably of 

 this species, was observed attached to the boughs of a tree in one of 

 the shrubberies belonging to C. H. Leigh, Esq. (lord lieutenant of the 

 county), near the entrance into the town. Mr. Leigh had it cut off, 

 with part of the boughs attached, intending to send it to a friend in 

 London. It was pear-shaped, about seven inches in diameter, and 

 eight or nine inches in length. It was packed up before I heard of 

 it, so that I could not procure one of the wasps. The person who in- 

 formed me of the circumstance brought me a portion of the papyra- 

 ceous covering of the nest, about four inches long and two wide ; in 

 some of the darker streaks there appears a deficiency of the glutinous 

 matter with which the fibres are coated and joined together. — James 

 Bladon ; Pont-y-pool, November 29, 1842, 



Note on Wasps. While I am on the subject of wasps, I may as 

 well remark that they have been more than usually numerous this sea- 

 son about the town. A species about the size of the common wasp 

 has been considerably more numerous than the latter ; it has a black 

 mark on each segment with three projecting angles, one of which is 

 central, the lateral ones occupying the places of the distinct lateral 

 dots on the segments of the common wasp. — Id. 



Zoophytes. 



Note on Sertularia. About two years ago I detached two speci- 

 mens of a Sertularia from an oyster-shell; they were about If inch 

 high, the side branches being from |- to | of an inch in length. Hav- 

 ing broken off with the Sertularia a piece of the shell to form a base 

 for it to stand upright on, I placed it within the doors of a book-case 

 to keep it from the dust ; about two or three months afterwards I took 

 it to a tub of rain water for the purpose of washing off the saline in- 

 crustations, and after rinsing it several times I obsen ed the branches 

 begin to assume a more rigid appearance, and the stem, which had 

 previously been lax and drooping, became perfectly upright and rigid. 

 If any part was drawn aside it immediately regained its position, and 

 in this state it remained nearly a day before it began to droop again. 

 I repeated this experiment a few weeks back, with the same result. — 

 James Bladon. 



