1890.] THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 145 



his trivial song and on again in endless repitition, but do not add 

 much to the contents of our bottles. 



As we gradually ascend however, we can observe the altering 

 character of the land. The invariable oaks of the clay give place to 

 scattered ashes and now and then a scycamore just tinged with the 

 first show of green, in fact we are now on a sandy soil and have 

 passed the basin of boulder clay and reached its edge where the sand- 

 stone crops up to the surface. You may notice now in the hedge 

 bank those velvety green leaves which will later on develop into that 

 stately plant the great Mullein with its spike of yellow flowers ; on 

 it you will find such weevils as the Cioni, scrophidarice and pulchellus 

 and many others ; it is not a common plant and except on this hedge 

 row you will search for many a mile before you find it. 



Just past this spot we turn up a sandy lane which seems to lead 

 into the fir woods on the top of the hill. 



Here the banks are built up with rough stones and as many of 

 these have fallen on the turfy margins of the lane we may get some 

 Coleoptera. 



Leistus spinibarbis in brilliant blue is common, ferrugineus also 

 moderately so, but of Badister bipustulatus we only find a couple. Of 

 the AncJwmeni dorsalis, which common as it is, seems to me almost the 

 most beautiful of British coleoptera ; and panimpunctatus are abund- 

 ant, still more so the Calathi, cistctoides, flavipes and melanocephalus. 

 Beneath these stones occurs also Amara apriciaria, trivialis, and com- 

 munis, Harpalus pvoteus and latus. a single specimen of rubripes and 

 three or four tardi. Some of the common Ptsrostichl and two Dromius 

 linearis complete dthe list of Geodephaga, while among the Brachelytra 

 we took Homalota angustula in a nest of Formica rufa, Philonthus 

 varians, marginatus and trossulus, Quedins tristis, Othius myrincophilus J 

 Lathrobium boreale, and the common Tachypori hypnonim, obtusus and 

 chrysomelinus. 



In great numbers holding on to the under surface of the stones 

 were Agriotes obscunis and we took one specimen of Corymbites ccneus, 

 under a loose stone on the top of the bank. 



Later in the year we have taken Dromius nigriventris under small 

 stones in this lane lying lightly on the grass and heather. 



But lapidarian coleopterizing, if such a term can be used, is tiring 

 work at the best and after hunting for the stercoraceous and carrion 

 beetles is undoubtedly the least pleasant way of securing specimens ; 



