276 



THE YOUNG 



NATUEALIST. 



Mr. Morris's article in brief just amounts 

 to this. The plants and shells of the 

 Channel Islands are considered to be 

 British by the Botanists and Conchologists 

 of our country. That it cannot be right 

 for one class of productions to be included 

 and another excluded. That it is no- 

 where settled by satisfactory authority 

 that the insects of the Channel Islands 

 are not to be considered British. 

 That there is no other instance of the pro- 

 ductions of one part of a country being con- 

 sidered as belonging to that country, while 

 those of another part are not. He also asks 

 whether Guernsey or Shetland is furthest 

 from the British coast. It is rather like 

 flogging a dead horse to reply to this, but 

 as the question of Channel Island pro- 

 ductions has more thon once been brought 

 under notice, by the younger readers of the 

 Y.N., it may be as well to do so. The plants 

 of the Channel Islands are not recognized 

 as British by any Botanists that I know. 

 The names of those not occuring in Britain 

 are included in the London Catalogue of 

 British Plants, but they are carefully 

 marked " C " so that no one shall be mis- 

 led by this inclusion. Of the shells I cannot 

 speak. If there is any importance in the 

 political question, the entire Fauna and 

 Flora should be considered as belonging to 

 the Channel Islands. When William the 

 First conquered this country he was Duke 

 of Normandy, and the Channel Islands 

 were part of his domain. When the other 

 French possessions were lost to the crown, 

 these islands alone were retained, and as the 

 only remaining portion of the conquering 

 nationality, they may rather claim that 

 Britain and its productions belong to them, 

 rather than that they belong to us. Does 

 not the mere statement of this fact show 

 how absurd it is to limit natural pro- 

 ductions by the limits of political geo- 

 graphy ? But if both plants and shells are 

 50 included by those who study them, the 



real question should be, are they properly 

 so included ; not, must others be therefore 

 included. The argument as to this point 

 cannot be repeated here, and readers must 

 refer to last volume for it. To my mind it 

 is very decisive that they oughi not to be so 

 included ; and while there is no better evi- 

 dence of the occurrence of C. Hera in Britain 

 than that of Mr. D'Orville's specimen, I 

 trust my readers will agree with me in 

 placing the species among the Reputed 

 British Lepidoptera. 



PRESERVING FUNGI. 



A correspondent asks how Fungi should 

 be preserved, and as the present season is 

 that in which they most abound, it is as 

 well to give the information at once. Yet 

 we must confess we have scarcely any 

 knowledge on the subject ourselves, our ov/n 

 smattermg being much exceeded in an article 

 by W. G. Smith, Esq., F.L.S., in Science 

 Gossip for 1872, page 103. To this we must 

 refer those readers who desire fuller part- 

 iculars than we give below, and to this 

 also we must ackno A'ledge our own obligation 

 for much of what is to follow. 



Everyone knows that the common mush- 

 room, perhaps our best known fungus, is to 

 be found most abundantly in warm damp 

 seasons. It is an ill wind that blows good 

 to no one, and when corn is sprouting in 

 the stock, the mushroom gatherer is making 

 his harvest. But mushrooms may be 

 artificially produced at any season, if the 

 conditions required can be obtained. So 

 other Fungi may at times be found at 

 periods that are not their usual time of 

 appearing, and the entire crop may in one 

 year be over a month or two earlier than 

 usual, or in another may not be 

 obtainable till a month or two later. Mr. 

 Smith says I have known the Fungus- 



