THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



245 



completely spoiled by the Puritans. All the magnificent carvings are hacked 

 and broken, as far up as it was possible for them to reach. There were a 

 great many niches which had contained figures of both stone and silver, as 

 we were informed, but all the figures had been carried off, and the ornamental 

 part of the niches wilfully smashed to pieces. The ceiling being too high 

 for easy reach was perfect, it also contained a full-sized bog-oak carving of 

 Eobert of Normandy, which was in grand preservation, the colours being very 

 bright. But enough of the Cathedral. We soon found ourselves spinning 

 away to the station of Brinscomb, about four miles past Stroud, arrived there 

 we found ourselves in a most beautiful valley, with houses dotted here and 

 there on each side ; the top is called table land, and is perfectly flat for miles, 

 and highly cultivated. Several of the large commons have been absorbed by 

 the landowners, and are not now open to the collector. There were several 

 woods around, but nearly all comparatively new ; the trees most grown were 

 ash, larch, hazel, beech and fir, an oak being quite a rarity. A canal and 

 railway ran along the bottom of the valley, and along the canal at frequent 

 intervals there were mills, manufacturing rags, silk, sticks, flour, &c, which 

 sent off rather too much smoke for my fancy, and reminded me too much of 

 our own busy town. Having secured suitable lodgings, we unpacked our 

 traps, and started off up Cowcombe woods, which lay just behind our house. 

 We were now ready for whatever might turn up. Moths seemed decidedly 

 scarce ; a wild thing dashed past, and on boxing it found it to be Hepialus 

 sylvinus, and almost at the same moment, my brother called out " What's 

 this ? " this proved to be Melanippe procellata. At this point we were in- 

 terrupted by a keeper, but a pipe of tobacco secured us peace for the evening, 

 and an invitation to come up the next day and as often as we liked. Our 

 other captures consisted of a few Fluctuata and Xanthographa, not a very 

 brilliant lot for the first night. 



The next day we followed up the canal, and were charmed with the great 

 abundance of butterflies, I never saw anything like them. Satyrus megara 

 swarmed along the walls ; while Lyccena alexis, Vanessa urtica, Polyommatus 

 phlceas, Satyrus tithonus, Chortobius pamphilus and Satyrus janira flitted 

 along the sides of the paths ; and Vanessa cardtd, Io, and Atalanta would 

 dash past or rest on the flowers of a large species of wild thyme ; and Saty- 

 rus ageria would flit among the trees in the woods. I took one very nice 

 Io in which the white on the eyes of the hind wings has spread very con- 

 siderably, leaving the black spot, in which there is a little blue, very small ; 

 this was greatly admired at the meeting of the Lancashire and Cheshire En- 

 tomological Society, where it was exhibited. Over a little patch of wild mint 

 in flower in one place I took a few Aurata, and one Fhytometra cenea. This 



