THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



243 



{Lamivm gvleol)odon)f nth; bluebell flowers 

 {Uyacinthus non-scriptus), nth; cow par- 

 snip flowers [Heracleum sj)hmdylium), nth ; 

 common avens flowers ( Geum urhanuvi), 

 nth ; herb robert flowers {Oera)iium rohcr- 

 tianium\ 14th ; sweet woodruff flowers ( As. 

 perula odorata), i8th ; oak leafs {Qucrciis 

 pedunculata)y 21st ; ox-eye daisy flowers 

 (Chrysanthemum leucanthcum), 21st ; way- 

 faring tree flowers [Viburnum lantani), 2Gth; 

 common fumitory flowers [Fumavia ojjiciiia- 

 30th ; yellow clover iiov^Qxs {'Irifolium 

 procunibens) y 30th; maple flowers [Acer 

 campcstrc)y 30th ; purple clover flowers 

 {Trifolium pratcnse). May 2nd; early purple 

 orchid flowers [Orchis 7>iasciila^f 4th ; milk- 

 wort flowers ( Pohjrjala vulyaris), 5th ; com- 

 mon tormentil flowers [Potoitilla tor/uentilla) 

 5th; salad burnct flowers [IWerivm san- 

 yuisorba), 5th ; yellow rattle flowers [Rhi- 

 anthus crista galli), 7th ; common bugle 

 flowers (Ajvga reptans), 7th ; tufted vetch 

 flowers ( Vicia cracca), 7th ; tall red nettle 

 flowers [Pediciilaris jmlustris), 7th ; common 

 poppy flowers [Papaver rhceas), 8th ; white 

 campion flowers [Lychnis vcspcrtina), 8th ; 

 sanfoin flowers [OnoJrychis saliva), 8th ; 

 common thistle flowers [Carduus nutans), 

 8th ; silver-weed flowers [Potentilla anscr- 

 ina), 8th.— A. Davis, Jun., High Street, Gt. 

 Marlow, Bucks. 



The Black Tern at Birmingham. — A 

 beautiful specimen of the black tern (Hydro- 

 I ohelidon nigra) was shot on one of the pools 

 ' in Sutton Park on the 20th. This bird is 

 extremely rare. The gentleman that shot 

 it saw it swimming about for some time, 

 now and again taking to the wing. The 

 flight of this bird is very swift and graceful, 

 and it takes a good shot to fetch one down. 

 A young bird of the same species was shot 

 , at the Egbaston reservoir last year. The 

 recent Bird Act does not seem to have much 

 protection for our rare birds. 



May 22nd (Note).— On disccting a cuckoo 

 lis afternoon I found inside the stomach 



several caterpillars of CJtelonia caja. — Alex- 

 ANDEK George Davis, B.N.F.C. 



THE PLEASURES OP COL- 

 LECTING. 



By J. Osborne. 

 No doubt you know a great deal better 

 than I do, what is best for the beginner, 

 who wishes to have a scientific knowledge 

 of that branch of Natural Plistory to which 

 he turns his attention. But I venture to 

 think that I know better than you what I 

 like myself. I have no great ambition to 

 be a " leading Entomologist " ; I am not 

 very desirous of knowing the personal his- 

 tory of every moth and butterfly " from the 

 cradle to the grave " ; nor am I even in a 

 great hurry to complete my collection. I 

 am quite content to jog along as best I can, 

 and pick up what falls in my way, either of 

 insects or knowledge, without grumbling if 

 my captures are common things, or my dis- 

 coveries are not new. I love collecting for 

 its own sake, and take considerably more 

 pleasure in the capture of a common insect, 

 than in obtaining a rare one by purchase or 

 exchange. It is all very well to hunt larvcc, 

 and I sometimes do a little at it myself, but 

 the larva; have to be interesting themselves, 

 for I cannot learn to care for them for the 

 sake of what they produce. I once had 

 some Agrotis larva;, dull, dirty looking things 

 they were ; but they buried themselves at 

 once, and I saw no more of them till the 

 imagines appeared. What pleasure could 

 there be in attending to them I would ask ? 

 Whereas, a larva like that of the puss moth, 

 is always interesting ; and I have often 

 wished to possess a larva of the lobster for 

 the sake of watching its movements. I have 

 never been able to conceive what use its 

 long forelegs can be. But I took pen in 

 hand more particularly to write about the 

 pleasures of collecting insects in their per- 

 fect slate. In day collecting, to see the 

 beautiful things on the wing, to watch the 



