THE YOUNG NATURALIST 



143 



Ranunculus circinatus 



,, Baudotii 



,, hirsutus 

 Cakile maritima 

 Brassica monensis 

 Sisymbrium Sophia 

 Nasturtium amphibium 

 Viola flavicornis 



,, Curtisii 

 Polygala oxyptera 

 Cerastium tetrandrum 

 Vicia lathyroides 

 Rosa spinosissima 

 Saxifraga tridactylites 

 CEnanthe Lachenalii 

 Pastinaca sativa 

 Conium maculatum 

 Taraxacum officinale 



,, var. erythrospermum 

 Carlina vulgaris 

 Myositis collina 

 Cynoglossum officinale 

 Samolus Valerandi 

 Atriplex Babingtonii 

 Rumex hydrolapathum 

 Hydrocharis morsus-ranse 

 Phleum arenarium 

 Festuca uniglumis 

 Equisetum variegatum 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS 



To the Editor of the " Young Naturalist." 

 Dear Sir, 



There are some etymological errors in the 

 article on " Willows," Y.N., vol. iv., page 52, 

 which ought not to be allowed to pass un- 

 noticed. " Some philologists," we are told, 

 " derive the word salix from the Celtic sal, 

 near, Us, water, because so many of the 

 species love to grow in watery places." So 

 far I have no fault to find, though I do not 

 think that that is the true derivation. " And 

 more fancifully," the writer continues, 

 "from the Latin salis (sic), to leap, because 



of the elasticity of the wood." Now, for my 

 part, I consider salere to be the true deri- 

 vation ; not, however, " because of the elas- 

 ticity of the wood," but as Servius puts it, 

 " crescendi celeritate," i.e. from its growing 

 up very quickly — at a bound as it were. Al- 

 this may be hardly worth writing about, 

 but now I come to a blunder which if 

 really serious. " The German saal, Latin 

 aula, a stall or hall ; brings us back," we 

 are informed, " to the time when our ances- 

 tors formed their primitive dwellings of 

 wattles, or wicker works — sallow branches." 

 Saal, it is true, is intimately connected with 

 the Latin aula, but this latter never meant 

 " a stall," and has nothing to do with willows; 

 but is merely a Latin form of the Greek 

 aule, which meant, first, an open court-yard 

 before the house ; next, a quadrangle round 

 which the house was built ; then any court 

 or hall, and in poetry any dwelling or 

 abode, and finally the court of a king : and 

 which is (I quote from Liddell and Scott), 

 " probably derived from ami, to blow ; for 

 the aule," in its original meaning, " was open 

 to the air." — Suppositicius sibi ipsi. 



Natural History Diary at Birming- 

 ham, 1883. — Jan. I., Hedge Accentor (Accen- 

 tor modulars) sings. Jan. 2, White Nettle 

 {Lamium album) flowers. Jan. 21, Gossamer 

 Spider floats ; Green Woodpecker calls. 



Feb. 4, Skylark {Alauda arvensis) sings; 

 Hawthorn in leaf. Feb, 10, Pine Beauty 

 moth [piniperda) emerged from pupa. Feb. 

 13, Small Eggar Moth {E. lanestris) emerged 

 from pupa. Feb. 22, White Butterfly (P. 

 rapce) emerged from pupa. Feb. 24, Colts- 

 foot [Tussilago farfara) flowers. Feb. 25, Dor 

 Beetle appears ; March Moth {A . cescularia) 

 appears ; Crows return to their breeding 

 localities ; Blossom Underwing Moth {mini' 

 osa) emerged from pupa. 



March 3, Water Skaters appear. March 

 4, Teal seen in flocks ; Duckweed (Larus 

 minor) flower. March 5, Lombardy Poplar 

 flowers. March 11, Raspberry leafs ; House 



