354 



THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



greenish, hind wing all green, both with 

 several squarish white spots similar to 

 those above. 



Larva. — " Dull green, mixed with red- 

 dish ; second segment white ; two white 

 spots near the bottom of the ninth and tenth 

 segments."--Duponchel, quoted by Stainton. 

 Newman, describing Hubner's figure, says 

 the white spots are on the tenth and eleventh 

 segments, which is probably correct, as 

 Sylvanus has them on the tenth and eleventh. 

 He also says it has a black head. 



Pupa. — I know of no description. 



Food Plants.— Bird's foot trefoil 

 (Lotus corniculatus) and other papilionaceous 

 plants. 



Times of Appearance.— The but- 

 terfly emerges in July and continues on the 

 wing for more than a month. All the au- 

 thorities I am able to consult speak of the 

 larva as appearing in May or June, but 

 whether that means that the winter is 

 passed in the egg I cannot say. I would be 

 rather inclined to think it hatches in the 

 autumn, and the larva hybernates when 

 small. 



Habitat. — It is generally found on 

 chalk in the southern and eastern counties 

 of England. York and Scarbro are quoted 

 as its most northern localities. I am not 

 aware that it occurs either in Scotland or 

 Ireland. It is found all over Europe, in 

 Northern and Western Asia. 



Variation— Like all the Skippers re- 

 markably constant to the type. One form 

 is named, Catena, Stgr., it has the hind 

 wings greenish. Two fine aberrations are 

 figured in Mosley's Illustrations. One from 

 the collection of the late Afred Owen, has 

 the usual pale spots nearly white. The 

 other, which was taken at Newmarket, and 

 is in the rich collection of Mr. Bond, has the 

 spots and markings of the usual hue, but 

 the other portions of the wing, which are 

 generally darker, are all pale greenish drab. 



THE EYEBRIGHT, 



(Euphrasia Officinalis.) 



By Mr. J. P. Soutter, Bishop Auckland. 



The cold bleak winds, frosty nights, and 

 drenching rains are making sad havoc with 

 the flowers ; only a few of the summer beau- 

 ties are seen to linger in the lap of chill Octo- 

 ber. But in old poor pastures, and in open 

 grassy moors, especially on clayey soil, the 

 little eyebright may yet be found in plenty ; 

 and although it has been blooming freely all 

 the summer, it has still a few of the topmost 

 flowers to expand to the warm sunshine of 

 a bright autumn day which often follows 

 the frosty night, which kills the tenderer 

 plants and causes the leaves to drop noise- 

 lessly from the trees. At this season, when 

 flowers are so scarce, there is little danger 

 of mistaking the eyebright for there is 

 nothing else like it in bloom. From a slen- 

 der white root a single, black, wiry stem 

 ascends about six or nine inches in length, 

 often very much branched at the base, 

 giving it a pyramidal outline, and bearing a 

 great profusion of white purple-veined 

 blossoms. In stature it is exceedingly vari- 

 able, in open exposed places scarcely rising 

 an inch above the surface, producing perhaps 

 a solitary flower, whilst in shade or amongst 

 long grass it becomes very slender and 

 scarcely if at all branched, with few flowers t 

 when it is E. gracilis of botanists. But it is 

 most commonly found in the much branched 

 state like a miniature fir-tree, and bearing 

 often from fifty to eighty flowers. In all 

 circumstances it preserves it rigid, erect 

 habit of growth. It belongs to the natural 

 order Scrophulariace;E, which includes 

 the foxglove and snapdragon, and its flowers 

 have the characters of the order. The 

 calyx is four cleft, the corolla is tabular and 

 two-lipped, the upper lip being two-lobed 

 and the lower lip three-lobed. The stamens 

 are four, in two pairs, two long and two 

 short, they lie along the upper part of the 



