THE YOUNG NATUKALIST. 



277 



as many minutes. Yesterday, too, I found 

 some newly hatched larva of it on the Peu- 

 cedanum pahistre. A few Macrogastsr avundinis 

 and Meliana flammed are taken nearly every 

 night. I took three of the former last night. 

 Flammea has been out some time, and is now- 

 getting very worn. — G. T. Porrixt, Wicken. 



Captures at Club Moor, near Liver- 

 pool. — On Monday evening, June 21st I took 

 the following insects at sugar: Acronycta 

 rumicis, Mamestra brassica, Apamea gemina, 

 Miana fasciuncula, Agrotis segetum, Noctua 

 plecta, N. C-nigrum, N. /estiva, Euplexia 

 lucipara, Hadena oleracea, and Mania txpica. 

 Noneofth?se are "rarities" it is true; but 

 beginners nust "begin at the beginning." 

 During the early part of the evening the 

 sugar was very attractive, and I was expect- 

 ing a "good catch," but at ten o'clock the 

 moon qui:e upset my calculations, and 

 obliged me to pack up my "traps." In one 

 of the earlier Nos. of the Young Naturalist 

 Mr. J. W. Ellis in reporting captures of 

 Coleoptera gives C. rostratus as rare in this 

 neighbourhood, so I thought myself rather 

 fortunate :o find one at Crosby, on 22nd 

 May. — R. Wilding, Liverpool. 



PLANTS AND THEIR 

 RELATION TO HEALTH. 



(Concluded from p. 266.) 



Taking plants as an example of the 

 pleasures and benefits to be derived by the 

 naturalist, I think that few people will doubt 

 that there is some good to be derived from a 

 study of botanical science. I will pass over 

 the fact that we are indebted to plant life for 

 the greater part of our food and clothing 

 supplies. A person is able to live more 

 economically and more healthfully on a 

 vegetable diet than upon any other, and 

 many kinds of plants —such as the common 

 dandelion, and many of the fungi, when pro- 

 perly cooked, are admirable articles of food, 

 and such things would form an important 



portion of the victuals of poor people if they 

 were only properly understood and appre- 

 ciated. 



Next comes the class of plants used as 

 medicine, and since the time of Culpepper 

 persons have gradually become more and 

 more numerous who believe that plants are 

 all-sufficient to cure all the diseases to which 

 man is subject, and there are very few. 

 doctors of any school, if any at all, who dp 

 not use some preparation of plants in their 

 medicine. Very many long doctors' bills 

 would be saved if the generality of people 

 only knew the virtues of such a plant 

 for instance as the common yarrow. A 

 few simple remedies such as this would be 

 sufficient to ward off many an illness if 

 properly applied in the first stages of 

 disease. 



Much has been said about growing plants 

 in sleeping rooms, some contending that such 

 is injurious and dangerous. I am one of 

 those who never believed anything of the 

 kind ; birds are constituted on the same 

 general plan as ourselves and they resort to 

 the thickest bush to sleep. Look at any 

 class of persons employed among plants, 

 such as gardeners and woodmen, they enjoy 

 the best of health as a general rule. The 

 occupation of gardening is a most delightful 

 and health-giving pleasure, every cottage- 

 house should have a garden, even if only a 

 few yards square, and all the inmates of the 

 house should spend a portion of their time in 

 it. I need hardly tell some of my readers 

 that plants live upon a gas (carbonic acid) 

 which is cast out of our lungs, and is 

 poisonous to ourselves. They use this 

 up, and make in return the gas (oxygen) 

 upon which we live. Hence the reason is 

 obvious why it is beneficial to spend our 

 time among plants. When a week's toil 

 in a closely confined workshop, among 

 paint, and air poisoned by various 

 kinds of impurities has rendered the frame 

 weak and jaded, no energy to meet the 

 adversities of life, no appetite for food, a pale 



