70 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST 



blooms. Last year at this time I spent a day 

 or two on the Cheshire coast, about Wallasey. 

 There a kind of dwarf' sallow grows in the 

 little valleys between the sandhills. It does 

 not grow more than eighteen inches or two 

 feet high, and I have seen it like a golden 

 carpet with rich yellow catkins." 



"Then I suppose you will get kinds of moths 

 there which you could not get here ? " 



" Yes, many kinds, some of which are 

 found in few other places ; but it is back- 

 aching work : the bushes are so low. There 

 was plenty of work for the day-time too. In 

 a morning we used to go out for a stroll over 

 the sandhills where we were able to pick up 

 several kinds of larva? ; one a very pretty- 

 one, called O rgyia fascelina, with tufts of hair 

 upon its back. We were also able to find a 

 beautiful little moth very commonly, which 

 we call Nysst.i zon/ria ; the female is perfectly 

 wingless, and you might almost take it for a 

 spider. Tnis insect has not been known very 

 long, it being first discovered there in 1834 

 by a man very well known to Entomologists, 

 called Nicholas Cook." 



" It is grand to be you Spring," interposed 

 the young ma n . 



" It's a nice part of the coast is Wallasey," 

 she said, seeming to ignore what he said, 

 " Sandhills for miles and miles, as far as you 

 can see, which the wind blows about, and 

 throws up in drifts at times completely 

 covering the fences, and you may walk over 

 without noticing that a fence exists. On one 

 occasion, I remember an old veteran Ento- 

 mologist relating that he had walked over 

 such a fence, and the owner of the land came 

 to him to remind him that he was on his lan I. 



"Your land" says the Entomologist, 

 ■' ar'nt you mistaken ? " 



"No, indeed," returned the indignant land- 

 owner. 



" Well now just sit down here and let us 

 argue that point," and the Entomologist with 

 a half hidden smile proceeded, "you say this 

 is your l.in.i, I think you are mistaken, you 

 spell it wrong, this is not land, it is sand, 



\ your land is about two yards below here, I 

 have never touched your land." 



" I tell you this is my property, and there 

 I is no road here ! " 



j "Oh, never mind," says the cool insect- 

 I catcher, "never mind, you needn't make any 

 ■ apologies.' 



I " But I tell you there is no road, and you'll 

 ' have to go back." 



" Nonsense, the road is quite good enough 

 I for me, now don't distress yourself, I'm not 

 at all particular, the road will do for me well 

 i enough." 



Spring cut short the anecdote by request- 

 ing Johx to give her the lantern, and lighting 

 it she looked along a bank they were just 

 { passing where a variety of herbage grew, and 

 1 as they passed along one caterpillar after 

 another was seen stretched upon a blade of 

 grass, regaling itself upon the new vegetation 

 I after its winter's sleep. Each one was taken 

 ! and placed in a small tin, along with a sup- 

 I ply of grass for food. 



" When will you be going again on such 

 ! an excursion?" asked John, after they had 

 j arrived at home, and were about to part. 



" I go out once or twice every week, but I 

 1 shall have an interesting excursion about 

 j the second Saturday in May, so however 

 j often you come before, don't forget to come 

 then." 



(To be continued. ) 



BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



j By J. E. Ronsox ; with figures from life by 

 S. L. Moslev. 



I Assisted by Contributors to the Y. N.) 



22, Atalania, Linn. PI. 11, Fig. 2. 



THE RED ADMIRAL. 



"Atalanta, L., Atalan'ta, a celebrated 

 j beauty, who made all her lovers race with 



her, on the penalty of death if they could 

 I not catch her.— Ovid, Met. X, 50S." A. L. 



It has been said that Linne selected this 



